Reality of Nightmares
by AshleyTrecartin
Summary: Rose and 10II have to come to terms with life together after Bad Wolf Bay. But nightmares are plaguing Rose, even when things seem to be getting better between them. Will the Doctor be able to get to the bottom of things before trouble finds them in Barcelona?
1. Nightmares

The Reality of Nightmares

Chapter 1

Back home in London, well, the parallel universe London, Rose Tyler was locking up the shop she worked at part-time when she wasn't helping Torchwood. Things had been…different after the latest battle with the Daleks. She'd been stranded again, by the man she loved, because he couldn't leave his meta-crisis duplicate self running around the same dimension. But…in a way, her duplicate Doctor was better. He could actually admit that he loved her…well once at least. The original never could. But there were things her duplicate Doctor couldn't do, like take her on amazing, unforgettable adventures. Although, the more she thought about it the more she realized that it had never been about the TARDIS, or visiting a new planet, or any of it. It had all been about being with the Doctor and holding his hand so he would never be alone…now she could do that.

Well, in theory she could at least. Ever since they returned to her flat, the extremely lavished one that Torchwood put her up in, things had been tense. They never mentioned the other world, never talked about what happened, or what would happen next. It was forced casual small talk, supper, shower—separately—and then bed. At least she went to bed; honestly she had no idea what the Doctor did all night. He had to sleep more than his pure Time Lord self, but it still wasn't much.

Rose had hoped that things would have gotten better, easier, over time, but it had been almost two months, and if anything they were getting worse.

Too tired physically and emotionally, Rose stopped at a small family diner before going home. Things had to start looking up soon. If they didn't she feared she might lose her Doctor—again.

He was busy tinkering away in the room Rose had given him, and even though it was her flat, she never came in, and he thanked her for that. He was working on a gift of her, and he wanted it to be a surprise. He'd probably be done by now if his half-human half-Time Lord self didn't need so much sleep. He heard the door to the flat open, signaling Rose's return and the smell of chips followed. She'd brought supper home again. That was the fourth time this week.

He frowned to himself and abandoned his work for the moment. He made his way to the kitchen. Rose was putting supper out on the counter, her coat lay across the table and her bag thrown carelessly against the counter on the floor. He studied her for a moment, watching her carefully. She looked tired. He might be half human, but that was mostly only in physical aspects. He could see the circles under her eyes, see the way her shoulders sagged, like the weight of the world was resting upon them.

Why was he just catching this now? He should have seen this weeks ago. Had he really been that preoccupied with himself?

Rose looked up, noticing him in the door way. "Hey," even her voice sounded tired.

"Hey" he said, pushing off the door frame and walking over to her. "How was work?"

She shrugged and fished around in a drawer for a fork. "Fine." She grabbed her foot and walked past him to the living room.

The Doctor grabbed his food as well and followed her. Usually he would take his supper back to his room to eat while he continued working but he had a gut feeling that tonight Rose needed more from him. He hadn't realized until now, but he had been neglecting her, and that killed him.

He joined her on the couch, leaving a cushion between them as they ate in silence. She didn't even turn the television on. He wanted to say something, anything to break the silence, but every time he opened his mouth, nothing came out. So the silence carried until Rose announced she was going to bed.

_Dead. Not breathing. Dead. Wake up. Please. Regenerate._

…_don't leave me._

_Blood. His blood. All over my hands. Not right… Regenerate!_

"Rose!"

_Please don't go. Don't leave me again. You promised! …you promised._

"Rose!"

_You said you loved me! You can't leave me! Regenerate!_

"_Rose_!"

Rose sprang up in bed, hot tears streaming down her face. Her throat hurt from screaming and she choked on a sob that was still lodged in her lungs. She was panting…out of breath from the nightmare. Was that really all it had been? They always seemed so real.

"Rose?"

The Doctor was standing at the edge of the bed, leaning over her. He sounded worried; she could see it in his eyes too. The way he looked at her, like at any moment she was going to fall apart.

"I'm okay," she choked out, trying to dry her face and clear her throat.

"You were screaming in your sleep! That's not the definition of okay."

Rose was quickly becoming agitated. Why was tonight any different from the previous nights? She'd had the same nightmare over and over and over again ever since the first time she was abandoned at Bad Wolf Bay. Every night. Every single night she woke up screaming, crying, out of breath and covered in sweat. So what made to night any different? "I said I'm fine."

"The hell you are!"

"You've never cared before!" Rose regretted those words the second they were out of her mouth. She knew it wasn't his fault. He was busy…always so busy.

The Doctor looked completely shocked at her words and slowly straightened his tall body. "This has happened before?" his voice was a ghost of a whisper. Haunted and unbelieving.

Rose shook her head. "It's nothing."

"How many times, Rose?"

"I'm honestly oka—"

"_How many times_?"

Rose flinched at his tone, and bit her lip. She didn't dare look at him. Couldn't bear to see his eyes. "…Every night…for months now."

He stumbled back, nearly falling over his own feet until his back hit the wall. "Every night?" he asked, not wanting to believe what she'd told him. She just nodded her head.

What the hell was wrong with him? He'd been living here, with her, just across the hall for two months now, and tonight was the first time he'd heard her? He knew he'd been focused on his work, but had he really been so focused that he'd been unable to hear Rose scream?

"Doctor?"

He'd been on the edge, of what he didn't know, but her voice pulled him back. In a few quick moments he pulled her off the bed and into his arms, holding her close. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

He didn't know what else to say so he just kept repeating himself over and over again into her hair. It was his fault for he nightmares. How could it not me? Because he hadn't been able to save her. It was because of him that she'd fallen through the void and ended up in Pete's world. He shouldn't have let her help him. Should have made her stay somewhere else, somewhere safe. And it was his fault that she was trapped here. If he were stronger he could open the void and take her home, to her original world.

The Doctor could feel her body shake against his as she cried into his chest. Her hands came up and gripped the lapels of his blazer, her nails digging into her soft flesh of her palms until her knuckles turned white. He wished he could take her pain away, he'd do anything, even give his life.

"Rose…" he gently lifted her chin and cupped her face wiping away her tears. "_Please_ don't cry. I can't stand it." He dropped a soft kiss against her temple.

She started to calm down and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm being stupid."

"No." he shook his head and sat down with her, pulling her against him. "You're not. I haven't exactly been here for you. All I do is play around behind closed doors."

Rose shrugged. "I just didn't want to bother you."

The Doctor sighed. "I'm nearly done with my work, but I promise I'm going to make things better." Rose nodded and sighed buying her head against his chest. He held her until she was asleep again and tucked her back into bed. When he was sure she was sleeping soundly and no more nightmares were going to plague her he slowly slipped from the room. He would have to remember to ask her what her nightmares were about.


	2. Surprise

Reality of Nightmares

Chapter 2

"Rose will you and the Doctor be joining us for dinner tonight?"

Rose looked up at her father standing in the door to her office at the Torchwood institute. She was honestly confused as to what he was talking about. "Sorry, what?"

Pete sighed and walked into the office closing the door behind him. "Honestly Rose, go home and sleep. You look like something the cat dragged in."

"Rude," Rose mumbled under her breath. "What's tonight?"

"Your brother's birthday." Pete crossed his arms and gave her that worried father expression he picked up quite quickly.

Rose rubbed her temples. She could feel a headache coming on. "Right, sorry. Yeah I'll be there, no promises about the Doctor thought." Pete started to open his mouth to say something or ask a question, but Rose cut him off. "Don't ask. All I know is that he's working on something big and he's nearly finished."

Pete sighed and nodded. "Just…either take a nap or put some concealer on before tonight you'll never hear the end of it from your mother."

She sighed when he left and collapsed back against her uncomfortable chair. She knew she looked like death warmed over. But she still wasn't sleeping. After the night the Doctor woke her up form a nightmare he'd been spending more time with her, but she was still having her nightmare. Every night he would come in and wake her up and try to calm her down, and he would stay with her until she managed to get back to sleep, but he was always gone in the morning. Things between them were getting better but they still had a ways to go.

Rose knew she wasn't going to be of any use here so she took her father's advice and headed home to take a nap. When she walked through the door, the Doctor was pacing back and forth muttering to himself. "Doctor?"

He froze, mid-sentence and mid-step. Slowly he turned to look at her and that beautiful smile appeared on his face. The one that showed al of his teeth and touched his eyes. "Oh, Rose!" he ran over to her, cupped her face and kissed her. "I've done it!"

Rose gaped at him. Surprised and shocked. She didn't know whether she was happier that he'd kissed her, or that he was acting like himself again. "What have you don't exactly?" she asked, beaming. The thought of sleep and Tony's birthday forgotten.

Remember when Donna said if its in my, well his, well our heat it was in hers?" Rose just nodded she knew better, she'd never get a word out until he was ready for her to. "Well it worked both, or all three ways. If Donna had it in her head, it was in mine—his—ours! Also! If it was in my—his head, it was in mine." He started pacing again, taking his glasses off before they finished falling completely off his nose. "So! I knew that I was going to come back to this world and leave you and I here. And because I knew what I was going to do, even though I could hardly believe myself, I grabbed something when I wasn't looking as a safety precaution. Are you following me?"

"Barely, but go on."

The Doctor beamed and took her hand, pulling her through the flat to his room. "Now before you see what I've been doing all day, every day, into the wee hours of the morning I want you to remember that it's going to take one more week until it's finally ready, okay?" Rose nodded, curious now more than ever. Slowly he pushed the door open. "Rose Tyler, my gift to you." He flipped the light switch and Rose nearly fainted. He reached out and steadied her as she wavered on her feet. "Whoa, you alright?"

"I-is that…?" Rose couldn't believe what she was looking at. It just wasn't possible. Slowly she walked into the room, stepping as if she were walking on glass; like at any moment the illusion would shatter. But as she ran her hand affectionately across the bluest blue and felt the hard wood resist her touch she realized she wasn't dreaming. This was real. A TARDIS. Rose felt the hot tears well up in her eyes. She turned on her heels and looked over at the Doctor. He was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, one leg crossed and his toes balancing on the floor; and his smile. It was that one that she loved, that rare one. The one he would smile while he hugged her, it was his just-for-Rose-Tyler smile. "How?"

"I'm glad you asked!" The Doctor pushed off the wall and walked over to her, his smile never leaving his face as he started to explain. "Do you remember, one of the time we thought we'd lost the TARDIS, and you asked why I didn't just build another?"

"Yeah, you said you can't because the TARDIS was grown, not built."

"Right you are!" he clasped his hands behind his back and started pacing again. "When I realized what I was planning, leaving you and I stuck here on a parallel universe with no means of getting back, stuck on this pathetic earth, no more marvelous adventures, I did something I told myself I would never do. I nipped a piece of the TARDIS, the seed pod if you will, so I could grow another one." He paused for a moment looking up as he contemplated something. "You know, now that I think about it, if I knew I was going to take a piece of the TARDIS to grow another one, I wonder why I didn't stop myself."

"You're bloody confusing, you know that don't ya?" she asked?

He grinned and looked at her. "Oh yes!" Rose smiled and couldn't help herself any longer. She threw her arms around him and pulled him close. His arms banded around her in a tight embrace, holding her as close as he dared, cutting off her breathing only slightly. "Do you like it?" he asked.

Rose pulled back just enough to look up at him. "I love it. And I love you." The Doctor grinned and kissed her, cupped her face and kissed her. Passionate, loving, possessive, everything Rose ever wanted a kiss from him to be. She gasped as he pushed her back against the side of the TARDIS, pushing his body against hers. Rose moaned, pressing back, showing him just how much she wanted him.

He pulled away, slowly, reluctantly. "We have to get ready, Tony's birthday and all," he said, his voice a whisper.

Rose frowned. "How did you know about that?"

"Oh, right. Your mum called."

Rose rolled her eyes. That was so like Jackie. "What did she have to say for herself?" she asked, crossing her arms.

The Doctor grinned. "She just wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to be any trouble tonight."

Rose shook her head. "Right, then I need a shower, and apparently better concealer." She sighed and looked up at the Doctor when he made no indication that he was going to move and let her get ready for the party. "Doctor?"

"You look exhausted."

"I feel exhausted."

He frowned and smoothed the backs of his fingers over her skin, pushing hair away from her face. "I'm sorry, this is my fault isn't it?"

She sighed. She wanted to tell him it wasn't, but he was the plague that had been after her every night. Infecting her. It was because he'd left her here, stranded, alone. That's then the nightmares started, and they hadn't left, even though she had him. It was because they weren't…things weren't like they used to be. She was beginning to realize that they probably never would be the same. She was just going to have to learn to deal with that little fact. "I'll be okay; I'll just pick up some sleeping pills or something."

The frown that broke her heart replaced the smile that she loved. "I don't like the idea of you medicating just to sleep."

Rose sighed. He didn't want her to medicate to sleep, but if she didn't she had a feeling that the nightmares wouldn't go away unless she did. She wasn't going to fight with the Doctor though. She'd just do it without him knowing. "Alright, I won't." he looked at her…seemed satisfied with her answer and let her walk past him into her room so she could take a shower.

And hour and a half later they were standing outside her parents' house and Rose felt, nervous. She'd never been so nervous to see her parents before. The Doctor slipped his hand into hers, sensing her anxiety and gave her a smile. "Shall we then?"

"Yeah," Rose smiled and walked inside, the Doctor right beside her. Things were beginning to feel normal again. Like they should. Maybe this was a sign that things were looking up after all. Maybe now she would be able to sleep through a night without having nightmares.


	3. Barcelona

Reality of Nightmares

Chapter 3

Giddy. Absolutely ecstatic! The Doctor was pacing back and forth, waiting for Rose to join him so they could get going on marvelous adventures again. Just like they used to. The new TARDIS was ready. He'd been up all night checking the levels, making sure the readings were right; making sure the connection between himself and the TARDIS was there and strong. He also made sure that there was a room for Rose. Just like the room she had on the old TARDIS, making sure that it looked exactly the way it had when she'd left. Exactly. He was positive because he had committed it all to memory. Even the clothes lying haphazardly across the chair in the corner. It even smelled like her.

He was anxious. Rose was in the shower and packing a bag before they left on their trip, but he was so built up with anticipation he could barely contain himself. He headed inside the TARDIS and just smiled to himself as he looked around. It really was perfect. Sometimes, not very often, he impressed himself.

He started thinking about all the marvelous places he was going to take her. All of the places he'd ever dreamed of taking her. Like Barcelona. Yes, that's where they were going to go on their first trip, to the beautiful planet of Barcelona and the noseless dogs. He set the coordinates on the TARDIS and sat down in the console chair to wait.

After ten seconds he was tapping his foot impatiently.

"Alright then, where are we off to?" Rose walked onto the ship and smirked at him. He grinned and got up from the chair, walking over to her, his hands in his pockets.

"Remember what I said about Barcelona?" he asked, his grin only spreading when her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Well, we're going to Barcelona."

Rose smiled a glorious teeth showing, eye touching smile and threw her arms around him. He lifted her off the ground as he hugged her. Things were beginning to look up. It was just like old times. Like the way things used to be. "Shall we get going then?"

"Oh yes!"

They ran over to the controls and with a flip of the switch they were off. Rose looked over at him and the smile she gave him made a soothing warmth spread through him. It had been too long since he'd seen that smile of hers. Far too long. "So when will we be there?" she asked.

"Oh, I would think an hour or so, got to give the old girl time to stretch out her legs." He grinned and stuffed his hands into his pockets looking at her over the rims of his glasses. "Why don't you go take a look?" he suggested, giving her one of his signature winks.

Rose grinned and took off down the hall that would lead to the other rooms in the TARDIS. He heard her scream of joy when she found her room. It wasn't long before she came running back into the control room and threw her arms around him again hugging him close. "Do you like it?" he whispered into her hair. Rose pulled back and looked at him; tears were forming at the corner of her eyes. She opened her mouth but nothing came out, she nodded her head instead and buried her head in his chest again. He smiled and ran his fingers through her hair, holding her close against him. This is what he'd been doing all those hours in his room when he should have been with her. He was trying to bring this back to them. The bond that they had formed because of the TARDIS, the love that would remain unspoken between them until one of them would grow a pair and actually say it.

Of course they had already said it, she'd said it more than once to him, and he'd only whispered it to her. Months ago. He wanted to say it to her again. Wanted to tell her how much she meant to him, but he was afraid. Things had happened, bonds had been broken, they had to be re-formed. He had to get used to this half-human body. He had to get used to all of the emotions taking over all the voices inside his head. He wasn't used to this.

He pulled back and looked at Rose. His Rose, his beautiful Rose. He smiled and dropped a kiss to her head. "You might want to go get changed. There's an outfit lying out on your bed. It's more fitting for the climate we're going to." She nodded and headed back down the hall to her room. He sighed and sat back in the control chair and ran a hand through his hair. Things were going to get complicated very soon. He could feel it.

It wasn't that he loved Rose, he did, he really did, but…they couldn't just start there. Things had to grow between them before they could get to that point. Technically he was the same person, the same Doctor as the original Time Lord, but he was different too. They had to start all over. Make new memories of their own, new connections and bonds of their own. Otherwise he would be constantly questioning whether it was himself that Rose loved, or if it was just because he looked like the full Time Lord Doctor.

He knew it wasn't fair, but damn these human emotions, he couldn't fight that feeling.

When Rose walked back into the control room his heart skipped a beat, and he thought for a moment one of them stopped. He'd never seen that outfit before, and he'd seen everything Rose had, these were not hers. That means that the TARDIS gave her those clothes. He was going to have to have a talk with her later. Rose was wearing a TARDIS blue bikini and a sheer silver sarong around her waist with her hair up in that messy beautiful half ponytail half bun that he loved so much. She was checking the knot on her sarong to make sure it was in place right before she looked up at him; and caught him staring.

"What?" she asked, giving him that look she would always give him when she was worried about him.

He blinked a few times. "Nothing, ready then?" he asked.

"Aren't you going to change? I don't think a suit is quite the right attire for this occasion."

She had a point. "Yeah, right, of course." He smiled and walked towards the hall, stopping beside her. In her ear he whispered, "Go look around, but don't wander too far," and walked back to his room to change.

Rose could feel the heat on her face as she watched him disappear down the hall. There was something different about him now, she wasn't sure what it was, but she could feel it when he looked at her. He never used to look at her like that. She didn't know how to describe it, but it was different.

She shrugged it off and walked out of the TARDIS and looked around. Barcelona was beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. There were purple leafed palm trees lining every dirt road, the natives looked human but Rose knew better. The men were all shirtless in shorts and the women had no problem showing off gorgeous bodies. Rose suddenly found herself becoming self-conscious. The air smelled like the ocean and she could hear waves not too far off in the distance so she followed her ears. After a few minutes of walking past beautiful people and weaving in and out of palm trees, carefully maneuvering the sand, she found herself staring at the most beautiful ocean she'd ever seen.

The water wasn't like anything she'd ever seen before. It was different shades of pinks and purples and blues and greens. She didn't know if it was just the water, or if it was the sand under the water. What she knew was that it was beautiful. The most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. She was really going to have to thank the Doctor for that.

"What do you think?" he asked, coming to stand beside her.

Rose looked over at him. She'd never seen him without the suit before…she rather liked his chest bare. She grinned, her tongue poking out from between her teeth a little. "It's beautiful."

He grinned and looked out at the water. "Wanna see how it feels?" Rose nodded and he slipped his hand into his as they ran through the sand towards the multicolored water. He couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up as they neared the water's edge and a wave crashed over their ankles. She was expecting the water to be freezing, but it wasn't. It was warm, perfect. They could dive right in, and they did. Rose gave the Doctor a gentle shove and ran into the water; he followed not far behind her.

Rose ran until the water was lapping around her hips as the waves pushed past her. The Doctor came to a stop beside her, his hand slipping back into hers. She turned to face him, smile never leaving her face as she looked up into his eyes.

He was looking at her differently again, like he'd been back on the TARDIS. "Are you okay?" she asked. Maybe he was getting sick. Could he get sick now? She really didn't know.

The doctor smiled and pulled her into his chest, wrapping his arms around her. "Oh, Rose Tyler, I'm more than okay." He whispered into her hair, just loud enough for her to hear over the waves. She smiled and let her head rest against his chest. This is what she'd always wanted; her Doctor, holding her, no daleks, no cybermen, no running, just the two of them together.

"How long are we staying?" she asked after a few more moments of enjoying his arms wrapped around her.

"As long as you'd like. I've programmed the TARDIS to get us reservations at one of the local hotels." She nodded and pulled away slowly to look up at him. Into those beautiful eyes that she loved so much. She opened her mouth to say something but it never got out. There was a loud crash and the whole planet shook with the force of an earthquake. The force of the quake knocked them off their feet and Rose went under the waves, but the Doctor never let go of her hand. He helped pull her back up to the surface and she coughed out water.

"What was that? An earthquake?" she asked pushing her we hair out of her face.

"No, that's not possible." The Doctor shoved his own hair back and looked around. "Barcelona doesn't have tectonic plates under their surface, no tectonic plates, no earthquakes." He explained.

"Then what was it, Doctor?"

"I don't know." He had that face on, the same one he always got when something was happening that he couldn't understand. It meant an adventure was coming. "Come on!" Keeping hold of her hand they ran back to the shore and started running along with everyone else, trying to figure out what had happened. Rose was suddenly wishing she was better dressed for the occasion. She glanced at the Doctor as they turned down a cobblestone street and wondered if there was any possible way he had the Sonic on him. She really doubted it.

They finally found the source of the commotion, in the heart of the city. They came to a stop near a crater that had formed in the planet's crust. A choking smoke rolled out and cautiously the Doctor and Rose stepped closer, trying to see what had fallen and created the impact.

Rose held her breath as they moved through the smoke. Just like old times, aliens, planets in trouble, and her Doctor. You couldn't have one without the other two it seemed. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

"What is it?" she asked as they neared the pod. It was round, small, and metallic silver. It looked completely unharmed from the crash, but it didn't look like there were any doors or anything on it so was there something inside?

"It's…an egg." The Doctor whispered, pulling his Sonic out of one of the pockets on his swim trunks. Rose was glad he'd remembered it. If they got into trouble they were going to need it. "There's something inside, but I don't know what. I've never seen this before." He held the Sonic out to the egg and examined it, read the readings the Sonic spat back at him. "This doesn't make sense. This should have burned up in the atmosphere."

"It is safe?" Rose stepped closer and poked a finger to the egg which she immediately regretted. An electrical charge surged through the protective coating of the egg and into her finger, coursing through her whole body and sending her flying backwards against the side of the crater. The wind was knocked out of her from the force of the impact, and her head snapped back on her neck, colliding with solid rock. Her vision went fuzzy and her ears were ringing.

"Rose!" the Doctor ran over to her, looking her over for immediate signs of danger. "Are you okay?" gently he pulled her head forward. She was bleeding. He held the Sonic out and looked her over. She had a concussion and three broken ribs. Damn it. The Sonic could handle minor injuries, but this was too much. "You've got a concussion and three broken ribs. Wait right here." He walked back over to the egg and looked at it, glared at it. Whatever was inside was going to wish it hadn't done that when he was through here.

Barcelona's security force finally arrived on the scene and ordered the Doctor to step back. He did, for now. Eventually they would be asking for his help. They always did. While the military looked and examined the egg the Doctor went over to Rose. "I'm sorry," she muttered.

He shook his head and ripped the bottom half of her sarong and pressed it firmly, but gently against the back of her head. "Don't be silly, you have nothing to apologize for. Curiosity is natural." He gave her a smile and looked up at the commanding officer by the looks of it who approached them.

"Who are you two?" he asked.

"The Doctor and Rose, here to help if you'd like. I wouldn't recommend touching that thing if I were you." The Doctor nodded at the egg and then gestured to Rose. "It's got some kind of defense, electrical blasts."

The officer looked at Rose and knelt beside her, pulling something out of one of the many pockets on his uniform. It looked a lot like an army uniform from back in London. "This might sting a bit," he said, before holding a long cylindrical container against Rose's neck and injecting her with something. The Doctor's possessiveness and protectiveness for Rose surged and he had to bat it down so he didn't lash out at the man.

"What was that?" he ground out between gritted teeth.

"Something to help, look at her head." The Doctor removed the sarong and examined Rose's head. The wound was completely gone. He held the Sonic to her. Her broken ribs were healed too. "I'm Commander Jenkins, in charge of the science and military force of Barcelona. You said you're the Doctor?" he asked. The Doctor nodded and helped Rose up. "I've heard about you. You saved the human colonized planet of earth a while back. Didn't think you'd be here, but I'm glad you are. You can help us." He turned and looked at Rose. "Ma'am," He clasped his right hand over his heart and bowed at the waist. "We've been expecting you for some time now."

"Me?" Rose asked.

"Her?" the Doctor echoed her question.

Jenkins pulled something out of a different pocket and held it up. It was a pendant that had writing on it. "It's been passed down throughout our history since the last great war seven hundred years ago. It predicts of the time a silver egg will fall from the skies and the Bad Wolf will come to save us."

"Bad Wolf…" The Doctor trailed off, the life draining from his eyes as he stared at Rose. She looked like she was about to pass out. She was just as pale as he felt. He looked at her, really looked at her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to look at him. She stared up at him with wide eyes and then he noticed it. Why hadn't he seen this before? He should have noticed this before. There, in her brown eyes, just along the pupils, there was a shining gold, staring back at him. The same color of the Time Vortex. It had never truly left her completely. She still harbored part of it. She was still the Bad Wolf…

"Ma'am?" Jenkins broke them out of their shock and they both looked at him. "I'll have my men get the egg and bring it back to the base if you'd like to follow me."

Rose looked at the Doctor, looking for some guidance. She wasn't used to being in charge. He was always the one with the plan, always the one telling her what to do. He wouldn't be able to do that this time. He just nodded slowly. "Alright." Rose climbed out of the crater with the help of the Doctor and Jenkins and followed the commander back to the base in the heart of the city. Three blocks from where the crater landed. "Are you sure you're men aren't going to get shocked by that thing like I did?" she asked.

Jenkins nodded. "Rubber gloves, they'll be alright." He led them through a complex series of tunnels and corridors that led underground. Rose took the Doctor's hand and squeezed. She was getting nervous and needed some reassurance from him. He laced their fingers and squeezed her hand right back. He wasn't going to leave her.

Jenkins led them to the main room where all the action happened. As soon as they walked in everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at them. Rose realized all eyes were on her and she was desperately wishing she wasn't standing here in a bikini. Whispers went around the room, all saying the same thing; "Bad Wolf."

"Is there anything I can get you Ma'am?" someone asked, coming up from the other side of the double sided staircase.

Rose looked at him. He looked nineteen, too young to be in a place like this. "Some clothes would be nice," she said and thanked him as he hurried from the room. Jenkins walked down and started giving orders. Rose turned to the Doctor and would have gripped his blazer if he'd been wearing it. "Doctor, I don't understand, how do they know who I am…how do they know about the Bad Wolf?" she asked, her voice more desperate than she'd meant it to sound.

"I don't know." He took her hand by reflex and held them both close. "We'll figure it out though…we just have to figure out what that egg is and if it's dangerous or not."

"If it's dangerous?" she asked. "It electrocuted me!"

He sighed and pushed a hand through his hair to scratch at the back of his neck. "Right, sorry." He looked around. "I need to do some digging…will you be okay for a little bit?" he asked. The last thing he wanted to do was leave her, but he needed to see about that egg.

"Yeah," Rose looked back at all of the people in the room. "Something tells me these guys would take a bullet for me." The Doctor nodded in agreement and looked at the boy when he came back through the door with two sets of clothes.

"I brought some for your friend too," he said handing over the clothes. "There's a bathroom through there." He pointed to a door.

"You go change first so you can go explore." The Doctor nodded and disappeared through the door to change quickly. Rose looked at the boy. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Tony, Ma'am."

Rose smiled, suddenly missing home. "That's my little brother's name." she smiled and vowed to make sure that she would keep an eye out for Tony. The Doctor came out, dressed in basic military wear for this planet. Black pants with lots of pockets and a tight fitting black tee shirt.

He kissed her cheek. "Be safe," he whispered before walking out the door. Rose sighed and went to change. They'd brought her something completely different than the Doctor. From the looks of it they were clothes meant for royalty. It really resembled an India sari in beautiful oranges and pinks and reds. When she finally managed to figure out how to properly wear it, Jenkins was knocking on the door. "Yes?" she called out.

"We've got some developing information Ma'am."

"I'll be right out." Rose sighed and looked around the small room looking for something or somewhere to draw strength from. She was going to have to save a planet today.


	4. Reality

Reality of Nightmares

Chapter 4

She was willing the blood to stop. To go back inside. One heart.

He needed to stop bleeding. Human.

He was going to die.

Dead.

Please…regenerate. You promised me forever. You can't!

"Rose…" Don't talk. Regenerate! "I'm sorry…" No! Don't you do this, you bastard! Don't you dare! "Love…"

Regenerate!

"Rose!" she jolted awake, covered in sweat, tears streaming down from her eyes. It was the dream again. "Rose…" slowly she turned to look at the Doctor, his face gently illuminated by the soft light of the bedside table lamp. "Oh, Rose." He must have seen something horrible on her face or in her eyes because he climbed into the bed with her, pulling her onto his lap. Rose gripping his shirt, bawling it up in her hands. The tears wouldn't stop. She wanted them to, honestly she did, but they just wouldn't.

It had been worse this time. He had never spoken in her dreams before. It just made the connection all that more real. She couldn't keep doing this every night. It was too much. She was drained, physically, emotionally, just tired. They were still in Barcelona. They'd been there for two weeks now; they hadn't been able to discover anything about the strange egg. Hadn't even found out where it had come from.

"Rose…" his voice was soft, just a whisper into her hair, but she heard the pleading in it. "Please, tell me." Every night it was the same thing. He would come in, save her from her nightmares and plea with her to tell him. He would stay with her until she was asleep again, but he would always be gone in the morning. But tonight…tonight it was different. Tonight…she had to tell him, it had been too real. She had to tell him.

Rose took a deep breath, partly to calm herself, partly to brace herself. Dreaming was one thing, actually talking about it was going to be so much harder. "We…we were on a spaceship. I don't know where or why…but," another deep breath. "You were hurt, bleeding. Doctor there was so much blood. You…you were dying…you couldn't regenerate. I-I…I couldn't save you."

"Oh, Rose." He stroked her hair as the tears started up again. He just held her and let her cry. When she finally calmed down a second time he gently tilted her chin up so she was looking at him. "Is it the same every night?" he asked.

"Yes…well…" Rose sighed and wiped her eyes on the duvet. "You talked tonight…you've never done that before."

The Doctor kissed her head and pushed her hair away from her face. "Rose, my sweet Rose." He smiled and cupped her face. "I'm not going anywhere. I know the limitations of my new body. I promise you, we are going to grow old together." Rose nodded and wrapped her arms around his chest and buried her head against him as they lay down again. Before she knew what was going on she was asleep again.

Once Rose was sleeping deeply he finally let his emotions explode. This was bad, this was really, really bad. This was extremely not good. Rose still had part of the Time Vortex inside of her. That meant she could still see the future. Her nightmares weren't really nightmares at all. It was a glimpse of what was about to come. He was going to die, in her arms.

No. he wasn't going to let that happen again. He would not lose her.

Slowly he pulled himself out of her arms and left the military base and made his way back to the TARDIS. He had to think, had to do some research, had to figure out how to remove the Time Vortex and save Rose from the nightmares of the future.

He was also going to have to make sure that he didn't die. Damn this human body. The Doctor ran a hand through his hair and sighed, running his other hand lovingly over the console controls of the TARDIS. "Alright old girl, you're going to have to help me out here."

"Ma'am!" There was a loud banging on her door and Rose was seriously considering punching whoever was on the other side. "Ma'am!"

"What is it?" she demanded, sitting up and running a hand through her disheveled hair.

Tony walked into the room and saluted with his hand over his hear. "I'm sorry Ma'am, but…you might want to come with me. The egg is doing…something."

Rose jumped from the bed and scrambled for her clothes. "Go get the Doctor. I'll meet you in the observation room." Tony nodded and left. As soon as Rose was properly dressed she ran out of the bedroom and made her way below ground to where the alien egg was being held. "Report Jenkins." It had surprised her at first, but Rose had easily fallen into the leader role.

"I'm not sure yet, ma'am we're still running tests."

Rose walked over to the window, looking into the room the egg was being held in. it was shaking around. Rose had seen enough nature documentaries to know what was going on. She grabbed a pair of rubber gloves and stepped into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Ma'am, the Doctor wasn't in his room. No one has seen him since last night."

Tony's voice in her ear piece intensified the anxiety rolling in her stomach. "It's fine, he'll turn up eventually, he always does." Slowly Rose approached the egg, rattling about. It wouldn't be long now and whatever was inside would be coming out.

"Ma'am I don't think you should be in there."

This time it was Jenkins. "Don't care." Rose gently ran her hand over the egg shell. It stopped moving. Rose pulled her hand back, confused. Did it die?

"Ma'am!"

The egg shattered. Rose cried out and jumped back, shielding her eyes from the egg shell exploding. Slowly she lowered her arm and looked at the aftermath of the hatching. There, sitting amongst the broken egg shells was a creature Rose had never seen before. It looked almost like a dragon, but at the same time Rose knew it wasn't. She had no idea what it was.

It looked like a fully grown human, but the body was covered in scales, had two horns atop its head, instead of hands there were three fingers ending with long black claws, the eyes were nothing more than yellow slits with red glowing pupils.

"What…what are you?" Rose took a tentative step closer. It just looked at her, rolling its head back on its neck, staring at her, smelling the air. "Can you understand me?" another step closer. Slowly the creature stood, never taking its eyes off her. "My name is R—"

"The Bad Wolf." The creature spoke, its voice a menacing hiss, showing ugly, nasty fangs and a snake-like, black tongue.

Rose backed up until she hit the wall. The Bad Wolf? How did this creature know about the Bad Wolf? Rose groped blindly for the door. She had to get out of here now. The creature slowly stepped towards her, inching closer and closer, its claws reaching out for her.

"Rose!" It was the Doctor. She looked over to the window; he was looking in at her, his eyes wide, fear flooding them. She'd seen that look in his eyes before…when she was falling into the void… "Rose. Listen to me, it's dangerous. Get out of there."

She looked back at the creature; it was just a few steps away from her. Rose found the handle of the door and tried to turn it. It was locked. "Doctor…the door…it's locked." Her breath caught in her throat as the creature came to stand in front of her.

"Leave her alone!" The Doctor shouted through the glass, running around trying to sonic the door open.

"You will save us…Bad Wolf." The creature reached out, grabbed her by the back of the hair and pulled here away from the door, pulling her back against its chest, its other arm wrapping around her to keep her against him.

"Doctor!"

"Rose!" He was banging desperately against the door, trying to get inside. "Rose!"

The creature said something in a language Rose didn't understand and the room they were in disappeared. Her head was spinning, reeling with the spinning, dizziness of the transport beam. Slowly her eyes focused and she took in her surroundings. They were on a spaceship; there were hundreds of other creatures standing around. Some with guns, some with spears…two were sitting on a throne. Rose had the feeling that she was in serious trouble and this time, the Doctor wasn't going to be able to save her. Something about this place was so familiar.

"The Bad Wolf, finally…we've been expecting you," one in the throne spoke, looking at her with those cold red and yellow eyes. "You will insure the survival of our race."

Rose drew on the strength that helped her tell off Daleks, to face time alone without her Doctor. "Oh yeah? How am I going to do that?" she asked, lifting her chin in defiance. If they wanted anything from her, they were going to have to make a very good point.

The King, from the looks of the situation, smirked, his teeth looking menacing in the dim light of the spaceship. "You have no choice." Rose was hit by something on the back of the head and her whole world went back. Her last conscious thought was a prayer to the Doctor to come for her.

When she woke Rose couldn't move her body. Every limb from her ankles to her neck was strapped down to a chair. Wires were connected all over, IVs inside of her skin, the blood leaking out slowly. Nodes were attached to her temples and wires fled from them into some kind of machine behind and above her. Fear and panic laced her system and she started to struggle.

"You don't want to be doing that Ma'am." One of the creatures stepped into her line of sight and checked a few of the connections. "If you damage the readings it could kill you."

Rose immediately calmed down, but her voice shook when she spoke. "What are you doing to me?" she asked.

"We're going to control your gift." It was the king; he walked into the room and looked at her.

"What gift?" she asked.

"Your gift to see the future child. I can see it in your eyes. The shimmering gold of everything that will come to pass." He grinned and stroked her face, his cold scales scraping her skin. "You didn't know?" he noticed her confusion and laughed. "Oh this is precious. You've never noticed? Dreams, dreams that seemed so real, they couldn't be dreams." Her eyes widened in realization. The nightmare of the Doctor dying in her arms…that wasn't a nightmare…it was the future. Her future and his future.

Bad Wolf. The word grew from a whisper to a scream inside of her head and she wanted to grip her hair, slam her head against something, anything to make it stop.

"Put her to sleep," the king ordered, looking at the scientist that was working on her. "Let's see how this war is going to turn out." He smirked as the machine flipped on and Rose screamed. Something was pressing against her head, tearing apart her sanity, looking for a way in, shredding her conscious. So many things were going through her head. It was like having the whole of time back inside her head when she'd looked into the heart of the TARDIS to save her Doctor so long ago. But it was so much different too. There was no past, no present no split second decisions that could have been. There was just the future. Every possibility that could be in the whole of space and time and she could see it. See everything. Her head was on fire, her throat burned from the screams tearing through her throat.

And then all of a sudden, it stopped. Rose panted, sucking air greedily into her lungs, sobbing as the pain seeped deeper inside of her. "Well?" the king asked.

"It's all revolving around a single man."

Rose was barely aware on the conversation going on in front of her. All she could hear were the tones in the voices. One of them was desperate, confused, the other was just angry. Spots danced across her vision and her face screamed in pain. She could taste the metallic of blood in her mouth. The king grabbed her face and forced her to look at him. "You will show me what I want to see." He growled. With a nod the pain and the anguish was back. Rose screamed and screamed. Tried to get the pain to go away. Begged and pleaded with them, trying to get them to stop. The king must have seen something he liked because he laughed triumphantly. Rose could hear it above her own screaming. She could feel her sanity slipping away slowly. Her head hurt so much.

He was livid. Absolutely furious. Whoever took Rose, for whatever reason had invoked a wrath inside of him that was dangerous. He was pacing around the TARDIS waiting for her to lock onto the spaceship. It had to be close and even if it wasn't it would have left an ion trail that he could follow. He just had to wait until the TARDIS found it. He shouldn't have left Rose for so long, if he'd been there he could have stopped her from going into that room. Then she would still be with him.

The TARDIS made a noise and the screen flashed. He looked at the screen and a small glimpse of hope ran through him. "I'm coming Rose." He set the coordinates and took off. If he could get things right he could land on the ship. He just had to get everything…perfect! The gears slowed down as he materialized somewhere on the alien spaceship. Hopefully there weren't too many people around to notice him. Making sure he had his Sonic on him he slowly stepped outside the doors of the TARDIS and looked around. No one in sight. He assumed he was in some type of storage room from the looks of things. He needed to find some kind of computer, try to find some kind of map of the place. He had to find Rose.

Carefully making his way through the ship looking for a computer he contemplated all the ways he was going to make her captors pay for taking her. For their sakes she better be unharmed. A heart-breaking, earth-shattering, blood-curdling, pain-filled scream echoed through the corridors on the ship. "Rose." Without thinking the Doctor took off running towards the sound of the scream his heart was racing as panic and adrenalin pumped through his system.

He came to a skidding halt in the room the scream had originated from so many things flooding him; pain, hurt, anger, and vengeance. They would not get away with this. Rose was strapped down to a chair, wires were connected from her body to a machine, her face was bruised from being hit, and her eyes were squeezed shut, tears streaming out of them, staining her face. Above her was a view screen and images of this race at war with another race flashed by. A dark dread consumed him. They had tapped into the Time Vortex inside of Rose and were trying to control it. They were killing her.

Suddenly the machine snapped off and all of the tension drained from Rose's body. She collapsed back against the chair, her breath labored and ragged. The man in charge stepped forward, his face beaming. "This is wonderful," he said looking at a replay of the images they had pulled from Rose. "With this information we can change the course of our future."

A smaller man came out, a clipboard and pen in his hands, writing down notes. "I don't think we should use her anymore for a short period of time. It doesn't seem as he body can handle this."

"Of course it can't!" The Doctor nearly screamed as he stormed over to them. They were shocked to see him, but the man in charge regained his composure first. Standing with all of the authority he possessed. "I'm giving you one chance. Let. Her. Go." He growled, getting nose to nose with him. He didn't care who he was, all he cared about was getting Rose out of here before they killed her.

"Who are you?" he asked, pushing his way between himself and Rose, cutting her off from his line of sight.

"Your worst nightmare if you don't let her go." The Doctor growled. He was palming his sonic, but he knew nothing about this race of aliens, he had no idea what kind of damage it would do, if any.

The alien laughed. "Boy do you know who you are talking to? I am Kalbah, the king of the Scythines, from the planet of Scythin. Who are you? You are nothing. No one. Get out of my sight and leave me with my toy." He turned his back and the Doctor gripped his fists so hard the Sonic groaned in protest from being crushed.

"That was your one chance. You're not getting another one." Acting on an impulse that he knew was more human than Time Lord he grabbed Kalbah by the robed and slammed him; head first, into the wall. The other man shouted for the guards, but the Doctor didn't hear anything. He was desperately ripping at the bindings holding Rose down. "I'm here Rose, hold on, just a little longer…please." He was begging her to open her eyes. He needed her to look at him. He needed to know she was okay.

"Doc…tor." Her voice was hoarse, barely there anymore from all the screaming.

"Shh, I'm here Rose, I'm going to save you." He was nearly through the bindings when two huge clawed hands grabbed him from behind and threw him back into the wall. The air left his lungs as he collided with the hard metal.

"Take him to the cells!" Kalbah yelled over all of the commotion.

The Doctor struggled, pulling desperately at the hands that held him down, trying to get back to Rose as he watched them strap her back into the chair. This body was too weak! He needed to be stronger. He needed to get to her. He managed a good kick to one of the men carrying him and they dropped him. Without thinking he grabbed one of their weapons, thankful it was a gun—despite how much he hated them, and aimed it at Kalbah. In his other life he never would have gone to measures like this. It was unlike him. But this was Rose. He had lost her once because he couldn't save her; he was not going to allow that to happen again. Morals be damned. He would save her.

"Maybe you didn't hear me." The Doctor cocked the gun and glared over the barrel at him. "Let. Her. Go."

Kalbah stared him down with cold eyes. "If you take her away from us, then you condemn us to death."

"It wouldn't be the first time." He growled thinking back to all of the races he'd had a hand in destroying. His own rang out the loudest. "She is a human being. Not a tool to be controlled. You'll kill her before your greed is satisfied. Beings aren't supposed to know the future. They're not supposed to control it. It's unexpected. It's powerful. Changing the future only leads to catastrophe. Believe me. I know." He took a step forward and Kalbah backed away from Rose. "There are certain points in time, points that are fixed, that cannot be changed. The death of a race because of a war that could have been avoided is one of them. You made your bed. Lay in it."

Kalbah glared and snapped his fingers. One of his warriors tossed a spear to him. Kalbah caught it and pointed the tip at Rose. "If I cannot have this power, then neither shall you." He smirked, fangs poking out of his teeth. "Make your choice, Doctor."

He glared and took a step closer to the king. "This is on your head." Putting his body between Kalbah and Rose, he squeezed the trigger on the gun. The beam of green light shot from the barrel and landed on Kalbah's chest. At the same time, the point of the spear sank deep into his side, blood poured from the wound, his breath caught in his throat. The Doctor pulled it out, making sure the tip came with it and looked at all of the other aliens in the room. "Who's next?" no one said anything. No one stepped forward, except for the man who was controlling the machine. He didn't say anything, didn't look at the Doctor as he started to release Rose from the machine.

The Doctor gritted his teeth against the pain. He walked over to Rose and picked her up, ignoring the blood that spilled out of him, creating a puddle on the floor at his feet, staining his red chucks as his body strained. Slowly he carried her back towards the TARDIS. He just had to get her inside, get far away from here. He had to make sure that Rose was going to be safe. He looked at her as he lay her down on the floor of the TARDIS. She was so pale.

Her breathing was slow and shallow, soft, barely coming out. "Stay with me, Rose." He pleased smoothing hair away from her face. He didn't want to leave her side, but he had to get the TARDIS moving. He moved as quickly as his body would allow him in its damaged state and as soon as the engine roared to life and they were heading back home, he collapsed on the floor, his vision going black.

Rose slowly woke up, her vision swimming before her eyes. She could make out the vague shape and colors of the TARDIS, could just barely hear the grinding gears of the engine above the ringing in her ears. Her head hurt so badly. It felt like it was on fire, every inch of it was pounding against her skull. Slowly, so she didn't vomit like she felt like she was going to, Rose looked around. And then her heart stopped.

No! The Doctor was lying face down on the grating floor, blood was everywhere. Forgetting how bad she felt she ran over to him and rolled him over, pulling his head onto her lap.

Dead. Not breathing. Dead. Wake up. Please. Regenerate.

Rose felt the hot tears well up in her eyes as she felt around for a pulse. It was there, but it was feint. He wasn't going to last much longer. "You're not doing this to me." She slammed her hands down on the floor and got up, helping him up and rested his body against hers as she dragged him down the hall.

Blood. His blood. All over my hands. Not right… Regenerate!

Rose was trying to fight the tears so she could see what she was doing as she dragged him to the infirmary. She'd been working at Torchwood long enough to know the basic resuscitation techniques. She could do this, she would do this. She would keep him alive.

don't go. Don't leave me again. You promised! …you promised.

Her nightmares came swarming back and she now saw them for what they really were. Glimpses of the future. Too bad. This was not going to be her future. She lost him once. Almost lost him twice. She wasn't going to lose him again. She refused to lose him again. She wouldn't survive if he left her again, especially if there was something she could do about it.

You said you loved me! You can't leave me! Regenerate!

She kept trying to push the memories of the future from her nightmares out of her head. They weren't helping her right now. She ripped his shirt open after she lay him down on the table and looked at the wound in his side. It was deep…but it didn't look like it hit and vital organs…maybe if she could just stop his bleeding…

She was willing the blood to stop. To go back inside. One heart.

Rose moved quickly, tearing packages open as she gathered everything she would need to stop the bleeding.

He needed to stop bleeding. Human.

Rose pulled on the blue rubber gloves and looked over everything quickly to make sure her had what she was going to need. Thank god for Torchwood training. She looked at the Doctor and decided that the wound was low enough that there wouldn't be any in his lungs, so she skipped that step, mentally reciting them to see what was next.

He was going to die.

She unsnapped the button on his trousers and pulled them down low enough they wouldn't get in the way of what she needed to do to keep him alive.

Dead.

She took a large cloth and placed it over the wound, sopping up as much of the blood as she could before she attempted to apply the dressing. There was just so much. It was all over her hands and her clothes, the floor. There was a trail of it leading from the control room to the infirmary. She was going to have to clean it up. Rose shook her head. Stay focused.

Please…regenerate. You promised me forever. You can't!

Rose felt around for the femoral artery and put as much pressure as she could on it to stop the blood flow to the wound. More than anything she had to get this bleeding to stop. Damn it…if she knew what blood type he was maybe she could get him a transfusion…at least if her blood matched.

"Rose…" his voice croaked as his eyes lazily opened and looked up at her. Rose froze temporarily. No…this was her dream…she closed her eyes for a brief moment, begging him to stop talking.

Don't talk. Regenerate!

"I'm sorry…" Rose ignored him and kept working on his wound. She wasn't going to let this happen. She removed the cloth she'd been using to sop up the blood and quickly grabbed a dressing and placed it over the wound, holding it down with one hand she reached for the tape as his eyes drifted close again.

No! don't you do this, you bastard! Don't you dare!

Rose moved fast, taping down three sides of the bandage so air could still get into the wound to prevent his lungs from collapsing. She couldn't get the wound above his heart unless she made him more uncomfortable, and it would be too much of a hassle. There would be no way she would be able to do it without making the wound worse. "Love…"

Regenerate!

"Shut up!" Rose snapped, keeping pressure on the wound and the artery. She had no idea where the TARDIS was going, but she hoped it was somewhere they could get help. Her injuries be damned. She had to save her Doctor. "The future can be rewritten." She told him. Slowly his hand reached up and searched for her. Rose slipped her hand into his and laced their fingers. "Don't you dare leave me" she told him, pressing his knuckles to her lips. "Don't you dare."

The Doctor nodded his head and his breathing slowly evened out. Hopefully he was going to be okay. She never left his side. She stayed with him, refused to sleep despite how much her head hurt. Even when sleep was seducing her, she stayed awake. Stayed with him. The bleeding had stopped and he was still breathing when they landed. It killed her to leave him, but she had to go see where they were.

When she threw the doors open her heart leapt for joy. "You brilliant man." They were in front of Torchwood and Jack and Pete were running out to see what was going on.

"Rose? Is that…?" Pete asked, looking at the familiar phone box.

"I can't explain, you've got to help me…the Doctor." She didn't say anything else, didn't need to as the two men followed her into the TARDIS and she led them back to the Doctor. Jack and Pete carried him inside, Rose right beside him, never taking her eyes off of him.

"You did well, Rose." The medical examiner had told her when they reached him. "He's going to be just fine."

Rose smiled, felt more tears form in the corner of her eyes before blackness consumed her world and she passed out, falling back into Pete's arms.


	5. Paradox

Reality of Nightmares

Chapter 5

His head was throbbing, spinning, reeling as consciousness slowly came back to him. The overwhelming scent of antiseptic burned his nose and dry throat. His stomach was rolling and he swallowed thickly, breathing deep and easy to keep from vomiting. He knew he wasn't dead, it wouldn't hurt this much if he were dead. That only left one conclusion, screaming in his head; Rose had saved his life.

Rose! Forgetting the spinning, throbbing pain in his head and the threat of vomiting the Doctor bolted up right in the bed. His eyes set about searching the small room for Rose but she was nowhere in sight. Anxiety covered him like a thick wool blanket as his heart pumped adrenaline through his body like he would die without it. His heart racing, he threw the paper-thin too-white sheet off his body, fumbled with the trousers lying on the floor, pulling them on desperately, before he darted from the room.

As quickly as his brain could process he took in the corridor. He was in the infirmary in the Torchwood building. If he was here…where was Rose? "Come on, think!" his hands fisted in his hair, willing the answer to come to him. Unable to just stand there he started running down the corridor; looking for someone who could point him in the direction of his Rose.

Unwanted, memories came flooding back as he searched for her. Her fragile human body had looked so beaten, so broken. Bruises had already started to form where wires had been inserted into her body by the time he'd reached her. Her lip had been split and blood had stained her chin. Her mascara had run, leaving long black trails down her cheeks from the tears she'd shed. Her screams echoed in his head; broken pain-filled, desperate screams that tore from her throat. He shut his eyes tightly as he collapsed against a wall, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes, out of breath and weak. Damn this. Damn this whole bloody situation. That shouldn't have happened. He shouldn't have let her get hurt like that. He should have protected her.

"Doctor?"

Her soft voice pulled him from his self-loathing. He removed his hands from his face and slowly looked up at her. "Rose." Quickly he stood and pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly against him. He needed her close, needed her body molded against his, needed her scent that was so her to drown out everything. He needed to feel her heart beat against his chest, feel her breath on his neck, her arms wrapped around his body. He needed to be sure that this was real.

"S'okay, I'm here, you're here." Her voice was quiet, trembled slightly as she pulled back to look at him.

His heart broke all over again.

He couldn't have been asleep that long because she still looked the same way she had when he saw her strapped into that horrid chair. Her lip was still split and dried blood still clung to her skin. Ugly black, purple, and blue bruises marred her skin where wired had been injected, inserted through her skin into her body, and nodes had been attached to her temples, connected to her brain waves. He could feel the weakness in her body in the way her arms wrapped around him, like it took every bit of strength she had to keep her arms up, just to keep her body standing up right.

"Rose…" gently he cupped her face in his hands and brushed his fingers over her skin. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She smiled, but he had a feeling it was forced. "Hey now, I'm alright, you're alright." She cupped his face and brushed her thumb over his cheek. "Everything…is…"

He caught her as she fell, stumbling back against the wall, he pulled her into his arms and held her close against his chest as they fell down to the floor. "Help!" his body was too weak to carry her. He heard footsteps in the distance but paid them no mind as he looked upon Rose's sleeping face. He didn't know how they were going to get through this. Daleks? No problem. Cybermen? Piece of cake. Time Lords? Didn't even break a sweat. But this? He knew that what was to come in the near future, the very near future would either make…or break them.

Someone came and lifted Rose from his arms. He was reluctant to let her go, but he knew she needed to rest. He covered his face with his hands and let out a defeated sigh. "Doctor?" Pete Tyler slid to the floor beside him, resting his hands on his knees as he looked at him. "What happened out there, Doctor?" he asked.

He heaved a great sigh and rubbed his hands down his face as he stared blankly at the wall in front of him. "How much did Rose tell you?" he asked.

"Not much, just that you were hurt." Pete sighed and scratched the back of his head. "She doesn't talk to us much; Jackie says that she never really talks about your adventures."

The Doctor sighed and looked over at Pete. "You're not going to like it."

"She might be from a different dimension, but she's still my daughter."

"All the more reason for you to not like it." The Doctor sighed again, he was so tired. Just utterly tired. "Something happened during the first year we traveled together. We were in trouble, years into the future and on a space station that broadcast television to the whole planet. Something went horribly wrong. We were attacked by Daleks, a whole fleet of them. I knew I could destroy them, using a delta wave, but I wouldn't be able to save the humans on the planet below, or in the space station. We were all going to die." He took a pause, remembering everything so vividly. He'd been heart broken when he'd locked Rose inside of the TARDIS and sent her back home. "I tricked Rose, sent her back home to Jackie. I couldn't save the humans that far into the future, but I could save her, let her live a normal life. A human life." He smiled a little, a sense of pride washing through him. "But Rose is clever, cleverer than she'll give herself credit for."

"What did she do?" Pete asked.

"With help of Mickey and Jackie, she managed to open the TARDIS, look into its heart, into the Time Vortex. No one is meant to do that. It went inside of her, took over. It was killing her. But…she managed to get back to me and single handedly killed the Daleks without using a delta wave, brought a man back to life, made him immortal, you've met him, Jack, Captain Jack, he's going to live for years and years thanks to Rose." He smiled and shook his head, remembering how surprised he'd been to realize that Jack was The Face of Boe. "In order to save her life I had to absorb the Time Vortex from her body into mine and then set it back inside the TARDIS. I thought I'd absorbed it all, saved her…but." He sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. This was unreal…impossible.

"But what, Doctor?"

"We were on Barcelona, a wonderful planet if you'd like a vacation. Something happened. An alien egg crashed to the planet. When the creature inside hatched it took Rose with it. Somehow, the people of Barcelona and the aliens knew that Rose was the Bad Wolf—that's what she called herself, the Bad Wolf, when the vortex was inside of her. When they first mentioned it…I looked into her eyes. Have you ever seen it; the bit of shimmering gold on the outside of her pupils. Just a little bit, just the smallest hint. She still has part of the Time Vortex inside of her. It's been giving her nightmares. When she's asleep glimpses of the future come to her in the form of dreams."

"That's why she was always screaming then? Because of something she'd seen?"

The Doctor nodded. "It was what happened on that planet. My death." He rubbed his face again. "But she's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. She re-wrote what she saw, changed the future." He smiled a little bit.

"If those people knew about this…does that means others will too?"

"I don't know…probably."

"Isn't there anything you can do? You said you removed it once. Do it again." Pete sounded desperate. He'd had time to bond with Rose. He really was her father now.

The Doctor shook his head. "I can't…not anymore. I'm only half Time Lord. I can't absorb the vortex, it would kill me. Rose…she seems to be able to handle it. It's not burning her up; it's not killing her because she doesn't have the whole thing. It's just a little bit of it. She's…controlling it."

"And that's….good?" Pete asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "For now…I don't know what it's going to do to her in the long run…I wish I did but…" he sighed and pulled himself from the floor. "I need to get to the TARDIS, see if I can find something."

"No," Pete stood and shoved his hands in his pockets. "You need to go to Rose."

The Doctor smiled, it was sad and tired, but it was genuine. "Yeah, right." Pete clasped him on the shoulder and led him down the hall to where Rose was. He leaned in the door frame and watched the doctors work on her.

"She wouldn't let us treat her when we were sure you were alright." Pete said from behind him. "Wouldn't even leave your side until she was certain you were breathing alright."

The Doctor smiled and grabbed the chair from the corner of the room and walked over to the bed, setting it down beside her and took her hand. If she hadn't left him, he wasn't going to leave her. He watched her sleep, watching very carefully for any sign of nightmares. His mind was reeling for something to help her, anything to take the Bad Wolf out of her. To remove the Time Vortex. But no matter how badly he searched for an answer, none came to him. He just hoped and prayed that Rose was going to be okay. That she was going to make it out of this in the end. He didn't know what he would do if he lost her again…because of his own stupidity.

Blaidd Drwg.

What's it mean?

Bad Wolf.

I am the Bad Wolf.

The wolf—there is something of the wolf about you.

It translates as Bad Wolf Bay.

Rose was tossing and turning in her sleep. Past memories flooding back to her as she slept. She knew what they were now. She struggled to control them. Struggled to grasp them, to keep them from driving her insane.

And the lost child so far from home. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon.

Rose didn't know what she was doing but she grasped the memories of the past and bent them to her will and sent them away until she was back in darkness and a conscious sleep. She let the darkness consume her, take over until something loud; that sounded strangely familiar snapped her eyes open. Rose took in her surroundings slowly. There was a dim light in the room that looked like one of the infirmary rooms at Torchwood, and over by the door was the Doctor, hopping up and down on one foot, holding the other in his hands, trying to get it up to his mouth.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting up slowly.

He stopped and looked over at her. "Sorry, did I wake you? I was trying to be quiet."

"It's fine." She smiled and swung her legs over the bed and slowly padded barefoot over to him. He looked okay, looked wonderful actually. She reached up and cupped his face, making sure that this wasn't a dream and just smiled. "You're alright," she whispered.

He smiled and placed his hand over hers and turned his head so he could kiss her palm. "So are you," he smiled, but it faded quickly. "Almost." His thumb brushed over her lip and a small sting shot through her. "Sorry, did that hurt?" he asked.

"Just a bit…" Rose took his hand and opened the door. "Can we go home?" she asked. She didn't want to be in this impersonal room. She wanted to be at home; their home where she could be alone with him.

"We most certainly can…after you see your mother."

Rose groaned. Whose idea had it been to call Jackie? "Do I have to? Can't we just hop in the TARDIS and go home?" The Doctor gave her a look that stopped that idea in its tracks.

It took them four hours to convince Jackie that they were fine and by the time they walked back through the door of their flat, the TARDIS left at Torchwood to insure its protection and un-detection, Rose was ready to pass out. She was so tired, and the Doctor didn't look much better than she felt. "Supper?" she asked, walking into the kitchen.

"Let's just order a pizza and have them deliver, I'm too tired to cook." He said, reading her thoughts as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against his chest.

Rose smiled and leaned into him. "Sounds like a wonderful plan to me." She reached up and cupped his face that rested on her shoulder as they stared around the space of the kitchen. He reached past her for the phone and dialed the pizza parlor, ordered and hung up again. "Doctor…what's happened to me?" she asked. It had been bothering her for a while now. She understood what was going on…but not how.

He sighed and tightened his hold on her. "When you looked into the Time Vortex to save me, and I removed it from you, part of it latched itself onto your soul, it stayed within you." His hands rubbed her arms, up and down, stroking soothingly. "That's what your nightmares are, glimpses of the future."

"And the past…" Rose muttered.

"What?"

She sighed. "Back at Torchwood, before you woke me up…I was dreaming but they were memories. When we met Queen Elizabeth, when the Slitheen were attacking, when I absorbed the Time Vortex, when…" Rose swallowed hard. "When you left me at Bad Wolf Bay…"

His arms tightened around her, dropping a kiss against her shoulder. "But…you weren't screaming like when you had you nightmare about the future."

Rose smiled a little. "I think…I don't know, I think I controlled it."

"What?" The Doctor spun her so she was looking up at him. "You controlled it?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah, I mean…I knew I didn't want to see what I was…so I made it go away. It was just…black, just darkness. It was like I was asleep, but I knew it was."

"Conscious sleep…" a smile started to appear on his face and his eyes lit up. "Oh, Rose, you are brilliant!" he kissed her forehead like he used to do when he was excited and pulled her back into his arms. "Absolutely brilliant!"

Rose smiled. "Thanks…why?"

"I didn't know what to do, how to get the remaining vortex out of you…I couldn't take it like I did last time, I don't have that part of a Time Lord DNA, I wouldn't be able to regenerate, or pull it out of you at all. I was afraid I was going to lose you, that eventually your mind would burn and there would be nothing I could do to stop it." He stopped for a moment, stroking her hair and kissed her head. "But you're controlling it!" he beamed as the doorbell rang. He quickly paid for the pizza and came back and looked at her. "In other words, Rose Tyler, you're a paradox."

"A paradox?" Rose took a slice of pizza when he put the box on the counter and listened to him explain.

"Yes, a paradox. You, Rose, are a paradox. You see, no one, not even a Time Lord is meant to look into a TARDIS and absorb the Time Vortex, but you did. On sheer desperation to get back to me." He winked at her and gave her a flirtatious smirk. "The TARDIS must have sensed your desperation and she held out on killing you as long as she could. That's when I took it back from you. But you were able to control it. You had control over the power it gave you. Normal humans would have burned the second it was inside of them. But not you Rose Tyler. Not only that but!" he grinned, pausing only long enough to take a bite of pizza, chew and swallow. "You were able to spread that message through space and time. You crossed the barrier between dimensions to get to me. You just keep breaking the rules you naughty girl." He smirked and gave her another wink.

After they finished supper they headed down the hall to the bedrooms. They paused outside of the doors; each held a hand to their respective knobs. Rose didn't want to sleep alone, and more than that…she didn't want the Doctor to be alone either. "Do…do you want to…I don't know stay with me?" she asked, nodding her head towards her door.

The Doctor smiled and looked at her for a moment. "Yeah, I'd like that." Rose smiled and pulled him into the bedroom. Too tired to be bothered with sleeping clothes, Rose and the Doctor collapsed onto the bed, just managing to kick their shoes off and pull each other close before sleep claimed them.

That was the first night since her abandonment that Rose slept without a nightmare.


	6. Shakespeare

Reality of Nightmares

Chapter 6

Rose sighed as she walked into the flat and dropped her keys in the small bowl by the door. Things had gone back to mundane for her and the Doctor after they had agreed to hold off on space travel until they were both back at one hundred percent. It was taking longer than usual. She was back working at Torchwood while the Doctor tried to amuse himself at home. Things between them had gotten better though. He would kiss her more often; allow her to snuggle up close to him on the sofa while they watched telly. They shared more lingering touches, and they had been sharing a bed every night, cradled close in each other's warmth.

"Rose, that you?" he called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, it's me," she called back walking in there.

It looked like he was in the middle of cooking. He wiped his hands down on a dish cloth and tossed it over his shoulder as he walked around the island. He placed his hands on her hips and bent down, giving her a kiss. "Welcome back."

Rose smiled. "Thanks. What smells so good?" she asked, setting her bad down on the table.

"Roasted garlic lemon chicken and steamed vegetables."

Rose smiled and reached up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "You're amazing."

He grinned and bumped her hip with his. "I know. So! How was work?"

"Work…but I have some good news." The Doctor looked up at her with a curious look on his face. "Yeah, see Pete has decided, thanks to our reckless adventure, that maybe a promotion will keep me on earth a little longer."

"I see," the Doctor slid his hands into his pockets. "Pray tell, what sort of promotion has thy father proposed?"

Rose grinned, noticing his pickup of Elizabethan speech and played right along. "My father, good man that he is, wished to offer upon thee a service. He wished to send his only unmarried daughter out into the cruel world where upon she may become consumed with danger."

"What service does thy goodly father require of I?"

"A guard service is required, to keep his flesh and blooded daughter safe and unharmed, good sir. Dost thou accept the challenge presented to thee?"

The Doctor dropped down onto one knee and took one of her hands into his, looking up into her eyes. "Upon my heart, till I shall breathe no more, my hands are yours to protect. My sword—" he paused for a moment, getting a confused look on his face. "Hold on, when did we become one of Shakespeare's plays?"

Rose laughed and helped pull him off the floor. "No idea."

"So, you're getting promoted to field agent?"

She nodded. "Yeah, seeing as how I appreciate danger so much."

The Doctor nodded, bending down to remove the chicken from the oven. "And he wants to offer me a job, as what? A body guard?"

"Basically," Rose moved to the cupboard ad pulled plates out. "We'd have some fun, and we'd get to be together…there's just one problem."

"Oh? What's that?"

"You would have to carry a gun."

Rose watched the Doctor's movements falter at the mention of a gun. She knew how much he protested the use of guns. He sighed heavily and started preparing the plates she'd set out before him. "Alright."

"What?"

The Doctor put the plates on the table and removed her bag, draping it over one of the unused chairs. "I said alright." He looked up at her and smiled a little. "Rose, my full Time Lord self would refuse, but…" he paused and sighed, crossing the space between them and took hold of her shoulders. "This body is only half Time Lord; that means I'm part human. I'm mortal…and I would do anything to protect you." He cupped her face. "I've lost you once, thought I'd lost you again, I'm not going to go through that a second time."

Rose smiled and kissed him softly. "I'll phone dad later then, yeah?" the Doctor smiled and nodded as they sat down for dinner.

He wasn't listening to Jake who was rambling off specifications of the gat he held in his hands. He knew how it worked, knew how to take it apart and clean it. Just because he hated using guns didn't mean he didn't know how they worked. "So, you got all that?" Jake asked, sliding his own gat into his holster.

"Yeah, I got it." The Doctor lied, holstering his own weapon and sighed, looking up as Rose walked in with the rest of the team. He smiled and watched her tighten one of the belts that held a pocket pack on her hip—standard Torchwood uniform for field agents. It suited her well. She could pull of the agent look well. He walked over to her and slipped his hand into hers. "Ready?" he asked.

They were taking a place to the country; a farmer had reported some strange happenings that Pete had asked them to check out. From the sound of the report it didn't sound like anything too dangerous but anxiety was still running though him.

"More than ready." She grinned. They walked onto the zeppelin and strapped themselves in. he watched her during the whole ride out to the country. She was talking with Jake and he smiled at the way her eyes lit up the closer they got to the landing sight. From there they would have to walk a mile or so to reach the farm house. The famer owned nearly five hundred acres of farm land, and they were going to have to search every bit of it.

Once they were off the zeppelin they looked around, taking in the surroundings. "So what are we looking for again?" Jake asked, once again checking his gat. The Doctor sighed, that had to be the eighth time since they left London.

Rose shrugged. "Don't know, the report wasn't exactly specific. We need to go talk to the farmer." They started off in the direction of the house, Jake and the rest of the team keeping their distance from Rose and the Doctor.

He leaned down so he could whisper in her ear so no one over heard them. "I think Jake might be a little trigger happy," he mumbled.

Rose smirked and flicked a quick glance over her shoulder back at Jake. "He's just antsy for some action." She explained. "It's been a while since he was out in the field, he got hurt about three months ago and had to spend time recuperating."

"Still, better keep an eye on him."

Rose smiled and slipped her hand into his and gave him a reassuring squeeze. His body relaxed only a little, but it did start helping him to calm down. They approached the house and Rose knocked, waiting for the owner to open the door.

"You're the ones I called about the," the old man who opened the door paused and looked around, "aliens?" he whispered.

Rose smiled, taking the lead. "Yes, what can you tell us about them?" she asked. The older man ushered them into the house, Rose gave the nod to Jake and the others to go check the perimeter as she and the Doctor stepped inside. Jake was more than happy to go out and look for something to shoot at.

"My name is Frederick," the farmer informed them as they were led into the living room and ushered into a threadbare dirty couch. Rose sat down and offered her hand to Frederick.

"My name is Rose, and this is the Doctor," she said introducing them. "How can we help?"

Frederick took a pack of cigarettes off the table beside him and lit up. "About three nights ago, I was outside, just on my way back from the barn, I'd been out feeding the cows. I saw something shooting through sky. It landed on the edge of my property, I went out the next day to try and find it. It looked like some kind of alien space ship. The past two nights I've been hearing strange noises, and my cows keep turning up dead."

Rose shot a glance at the Doctor. Usually when aliens attacked earth, they were after the humans, not the livestock. He stood and started looking around the house, trying to see if there was anything useful. Didn't look that way. Frederick was an old man, a widower, and a father. He didn't have any kind of alien technology lying about. He didn't even have a telly or a radio.

Rose smiled and stood, shaking Frederick's hand. "We'll go see what we can find out."

They left the small cottage and headed in the direction of the barn. "What do you think, Rose?" the Doctor asked as they stepped inside.

Rose sighed and pushed the door open. The smell that met them was horrid, but they moved in anyways. "Well, we've both had our fair share of aliens, I've never heard of them attacking livestock before. They're usually hell bent on taking over the earth."

The Doctor nodded when they came up to the first empty stall. There was still hay in the feeder, and water in the trough. These weren't beef cows, they were milking cows. That would mean that whoever or whatever was taking them and killing them, was breaking into the barn. He looked everywhere but there was no sign of forced entry. So how was it getting in?

"This isn't right…"Rose took a step back and then Jamie, one of the other women on the team, screamed. They both took off through the field in the sound of the scream. Jake met them half way." That was Jamie.

"I know." Jake took off ahead of Rose and the Doctor, but slowed down shortly after. Jamie was lying on the ground; deep bloody scratches covered her back. "Jamie…" Jake knelt and turned her over, and held her back off the ground. "What happened?"

"Get her back to the zeppelin, if she can talk great, but don't push her Jack." Rose ordered as she took in the surroundings. Something with claws that big had to have left a trail from where it'd come from and to where it went, but the long weeds that made up the field were untouched except for Jack, the Doctor, and her own trails leading to Jamie. So…if it hadn't come from the ground, where had it come from…and where had Jamie's trail gotten to?

"Rose, this isn't right, I think we should go back and get more help." The Doctor whispered to her as a few others from the team, Mike, Clayton, and Barbie, joined them.

Rose shook her head and pulled her gun off of her hip, holding it out steady. "No, we're going to finish this." She looked over her shoulder at the rest of the party. "Keep your eyes on the sky, and in the shadows." They nodded, drew their own weapons and followed Rose across the field.

They were nearing the landing sight Frederick had told them about and the closer they got, the more nervous the Doctor became. He was constantly watching Rose. He really didn't like this. It didn't feel right. He wished she would listen to him, but this was her first mission…he knew she probably wanted to prove something, but to whom he didn't know.

Slowly they approached the crater and all of the color left his face as he stumbled back. No. There was just…no.

"Doctor?" Rose knelt beside him, looking at him, concern written all over her face. "Doctor, what is it?" he could hear the desperation starting to sink into it.

"That's…that's not possible."

"What's not" Rose asked, taking his hand and lacing their fingers. It was something that had always calmed him down in the past, but it wasn't going to be enough this time.

"Time Lords…"


	7. Master

Reality of Nightmares

Chapter 7

"Time Lords…"

Rose stared at him in disbelief. He didn't blame her. He wouldn't have believed it either if he hadn't seen the Gallifreyan imprinted on the crashed TARDIS. "Doctor…you said they were all dead…you're the last."

He swallowed thickly and slowly walked over to the crater. He knew that TARDIS, the words written only confirmed his fears. Rose walked up beside him and looked up at him, waiting for him to answer her. "They are all dead…in your original universe."

"How right you are!" the Doctor didn't turn along with everyone else to greet the visitor with wide eyes. He was still trying to process everything, but his heart broke at the voice. Out of all the Time Lords…why him? "But so wrong at the same time." He was pouting. The Doctor could hear it in his voice as he spoke. "What's wrong Doctor? Turn around and say hello!"

Slowly he turned around and stared into those crazy eyes that had always haunted him. He looked the same way he head the last time the Doctor has seen him. He reached into one of his many pockets and pulled out the 3D glasses that would allow him to tell dimension jumpers apart from those who hadn't.

"Come on Doctor! Surely you must have something to say. You never could stop talking." He muttered the last part as if he didn't want the Doctor to hear that. That was a laugh.

The Doctor pocketed the glasses and squeezed his hand around Rose's as she slipped hers into his. "Who are you?" Mike pointed his gun and the Doctor reached out to stop him but it was too late. He fell to the ground, eyes closed forever.

Glaring and venom in his voice the Doctor turned on the villain. "You didn't have to do that." He growled.

"Ah, there it is the passion! The fire! I knew you couldn't stay quiet for long." He smirked and twirled his sonic round his fingers.

"Doctor…who is that?" Rose asked, standing up while Barbie attended to Mike.

"And this must be Rose! The defender of the earth!" slowly he approached them and the Doctor couldn't control the possessiveness and protectiveness that over took him and caused him to move Rose behind his body. "Oh, come now, Doctor. I just wanted to say hello." He smirked wickedly.

"Leave her alone." He growled.

"Doctor." Rose gripped his jacket from behind him.

"Go on, Doctor. Tell our precious Rose who I am."

The Doctor growled and shut his eyes tightly, taking a steadying breath. He wanted to hold off on admitting this was real, but now he couldn't. "Rose…this is the Master."

The Master smirked, that evil, playful smirk that drained the color from his face and made his heart break. He bowed as Rose stared at him. He'd told her stories of the Master when she asked about his travels with Martha and Donna. He felt her hands tighten in the back of his jacket. "Nice to meet you, Rose Tyler." He paused, that twisted smirk growing. "Or should I say, Bad Wolf?"

Both of his hearts stopped and he felt Rose waver on her feet. Thankfully Clayton was there and grabbed her shoulders keeping her upright. "H-how…" Rose's voice was weak, soft, but yet the Master heard it.

He smirked, laughed and took a giddy step forward. "I'm so glad you asked!" He casually pushed his hands into his pockets and leveled his eyes on the Doctor. "I'm sure your Doctor has told you about our time together, back when he left you for Martha . Bit of a downgrade if you ask me."

The Doctor growled and kept Rose behind him when she tried to push past him. She'd been so enraged at what the Master had done when he'd told her the story. "Rose, stop."

"Oh, he has told you the story. Though I'm sure he picked up the first woman he could find to try and get you out of his head." The Master smirked, pleased in Rose's reaction. "How does that make you feel? To be the one woman that the Doctor could fall in love with?" he asked. He held his chin, feigning a thoughtful look. "I mean there was Martha Jones, who quite fancied our heroic Doctor, but her feelings were unrequited. Then, later there was Donna Noble, the best friend of the Doctor. Jack, who let's be honest would have done anything to find out what made our Doctor tick, but out of all of those companions, he chose you." The more he talked the more enraged the Doctor became. How was it possible the Master knew about Donna? He was dead. He'd seen it. He'd built the pyre and lit the fire that burned his body. The Master picked up on his rage and settled those wild crazy eyes on him. "What on earth could be wrong Doctor? You look as though you've seen a ghost."

The Doctor growled and in four long, fury-filled strides got nose to nose with the Master and growled. "How do you know about Donna? You were dead. I saw you burn!"

The Master laughed and leaned in closer, his mouth was at the Doctor's ear. "I always survive." He whispered. The Doctor stood there. Defeated. It had taken a damn near miracle to get rid of the Master last time…and it had been for nothing. "Oh, don't worry Doctor, I'm not here to kill you…yet." He pulled back and gave him a wink as he walked past him.

Rose watched the Master whisper something into the Doctor's ear before he stepped past him and slowly started walking towards her. Clayton and Barbie started to raise their weapons but Rose stopped them. She already had two dead, she didn't need more. Instead, she called upon the courage that seemed to always come from some small dark corner when she needed it and squared her shoulders. She watched him as he approached her and found it disgusting the way he practically skipped over to her. With a hop he stopped in front of her, a cold smile on his face, and bowed at the waist before her.

"The Big Bad Wolf." He crooned as he straightened and looked at her. He reached out and stroked her face with the backs of his fingers before cupping her chin in his cold fingers. Rose shivered. "Well, I've been dying to meet you." He grinned.

"What do you want?" Rose demanded. So much for taking it easy. First mission she and the Doctor got together and they were being attacked by a Time Lord that should be dead.

He laughed and noticed how she was looking over his shoulder past him to the Doctor. He was just standing here, his shoulders down, like the weight of the world was resting upon a defeated man. She'd never seen him like this and it killed her. She wanted to go to him, but she was measuring her steps with the Master. She knew he liked to play games, and as long as she could keep him talking, the Doctor had a chance to snap out of whatever mood the Master had put him in with his whispered words.

"What do I want with you, Rose Tyler?" he echoed her question, making her look at him again, removing her gaze from the Doctor. He leaned in close; Rose could feel his breath on her neck. "I want you." He whispered.

A cold spread through her and Rose tried to back away, but the Master reached out, wrapping his arm around her, pulling her back flush against his chest. Rose screamed and it broke the Doctor out of whatever mood had plagued him. He turned, a glare Rose had never seen before trapped in his eyes. "Let her go." He demanded, crossing the space between them. The Master stopped him before he got too close. "You don't want to do this," he ground out. "Believe me."

The Master laughed, running his fingers through Rose's hair. "Oh, but I do, Doctor. Believe me." Rose could feel his smirk against her skin as she stared up at the Doctor. He wouldn't take his eyes off the Master.

"Tell me something, because it's been bothering me, how did you get here, to this dimension? How do you know about Rose? And what do you need her for?"

"Oh, I'm sure those questions are bothering you, Doctor." The Master laughed a cruel and evil sound. "I bet it's just burning you up that you don't know. The Oncoming Storm?" he scoffed. "You're nothing more than a drizzle." The Master lifted his arm and a transporter, much like Jack's was revealed. He pushed a few quick buttons and Rose's stomach heaved as they moved through time and space.

They landed and it took more of his strength than he expected to keep both himself and Rose Tyler upright instead of falling to the ground. He laughed, long and hard as he reveled in the look upon his dear Doctor's face. Anger, fear, horror, desperation, and heartbreak had all warred in his eyes. He loved that look. The human female struggled in his hold and he only laughed harder. Humans, they were so weak, it was amusing to watch them struggle. Like prey in a hunter's trap.

He released her from his hold and watched her fall to the ground. She looked up at him, fear running through her eyes, laced with anger and hate. As far as human females went, she was attractive. He could see why the Doctor fancied her. He smirked and straightened his clothes. "Welcome, Rose Tyler, to my spaceship." He grinned as she looked around. He let her poor human mind try to come to terms with what happened as he swaggered over to the controls he needed to get his TARDIS back on board before the Doctor got any clever ideas. Once that was done he turned his attention back to his guest. She was looking around the small control room undoubtedly looking for a way out. It amused him to watch her, carefully account for all exits. Oh, she was going to be fun.

"So! What do you think of my ship?" he asked, walking towards her. She stared at him, backing away trying to keep distance between them. He just smirked and backed her into a wall, cadging her in with his arms on either side of her. "Isn't it just posh?"

She glared up at him, her eyes cold and calculating. "You never answered the Doctor's questions." She pointed out. Perhaps she was hoping he would tell her. Well, he supposed he could amuse her for the time being.

He released her and walked over to the mini bar along the far wall. "To his first question; how did I manage to get to this dimension?" he started mixing himself a drink, thinking back to the last time he'd seen the Doctor, well the original Doctor, not some mixed breed mongrel. It had killed him to know that the Doctor had bested him again, and not just him, but the strongest of the Time Lord council as well. But he refused to die. He was the Master. He would live forever.

"The last time we met, the full blooded Time Lord and I, was not the same time your Doctor remembers. We met for a second time. The drums had grown so loud, beating a steady rhythm in my head." He paused, his fingers beating out the tune against the mini bar counter.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

"It was the Time Lords, calling me from where the Doctor had trapped them. So, I took over the world, quite easily, beckoned the Time Lords through time and space, and welcomed them with open arms. Of course your precious Doctor couldn't allow this to happen. He couldn't let his precious earth be destroyed. So he defeated them, sent them along with myself back through the portal." His knuckles were bone white, wrapped around his glass and the counter's edge.

"I saw an opening in the vortex and I took it, that Miss Tyler is how I came to be in your dimension. I refused to go back to Gallifrey, the world that turned me mad." He knocked his glass back, emptying the alcoholic contents down his throat, genuinely enjoying the burning sensation that followed. "To answer his second question; how do I know about you?"

He filled his glass again and turned to look at Rose. She was still pressed against the wall, watching him with wide eyes as he regarded her. "Before I took over the planet I was squatting in a trash dump and the good Doctor found me there. The drums were so loud, and I was so hungry, gorging myself like some fat pig being fed just to be led to slaughter. Have you ever been a victim of his mind invasion?" Rose shook her head. "No. I didn't think so, not on his precious Rose." He snorted and pulled a chair out, collapsing back against it. "You've seen it though, surely. He creeps into your mind, breaks down the doors, and invades your soul. But it works both ways. While he was inside my mind, I was inside his." The Master smirked, remembering all of the things he had seen. "When I came across you and the human Doctor I was so excited I could barely contain myself."

He laughed and looked upon Rose again. "Paradoxes, the both of you. The human woman who could control the Time Vortex and the human male with the powers and memories of a Time Lord." He shook his head staring at her. "That brings us to his last question; what do I want with you?" he smirked, setting his glass down and slowly walking over to her, his eyes boring into hers. She was frightened, and she should be. "I'm going to use you to kill the Doctor."

With a snap of his fingers employees he had gathered came in, armed to the teeth and snatched up Rose. "Gentlemen! Kindly show Dame Rose to her room." As they dragged her from the room, kicking and screaming, the Master flipped a switch and classical music filled the room, downing her out.

Prepare yourself, Doctor. The drums are beating, and the soldiers are marching.


	8. Dimensions

Reality of Nightmares

Chapter 8

"Doctor! Calm down!" Jackie grabbed him by the shoulders, stopping him in his tracks, keeping him from breaking anything else in the flat. "You are not going to help Rose this way." He knew she was right, but he really wanted to break something else. He eyed the toaster and noticed how unbroken it was. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. "Good, now, what are we going to do?" she asked.

"We?" the Doctor asked. "No, Jackie, there is no we. I'm going to go kill a Time Lord somehow and bring Rose home. You are staying right here."

"The hell I am!" Jackie put her hands on her hips and gave him that mothering look. "She's my daughter, I'm going with you."

The Doctor opened his mouth to start an argument but Pete clasped him on the shoulder. "Let it go, Doctor. You're not going to win this one. We're all going with you." He sighed and looked from Jackie, to Pete, to Jake.

"Oh, alright. Fine." He knew a lost cause when he saw it. "Just don't touch anything inside of the TARDIS." He stormed out of the flat and into the TARDIS firing up the controls. Jackie took a seat in the chair and Pete stood beside her. When Jake walked in the poor kid looked like he was going to have a heart attack. The Doctor rolled his eyes. They didn't have time for this. "Yeah, yeah, it's bigger on the inside. Now close the doors." He snapped. Jake closed the doors and the Doctor pointed his sonic at the TARDIS controls. He'd managed to pick up trace amounts of ions; he'd be able to pick up where the Master had taken Rose.

There was no guarantee that they were still going to be in that same location, but he could still pick up on the heat signature of the engines or the ion trail. As soon as the TARDIS locked onto the coordinates he pulled the lever and took off.

When the TARDIS landed with a shudder he ran to the door and threw it open taking in the surroundings. "Where are we, Doctor?" Jackie asked.

"On a spaceship…" slowly he walked out. They hadn't left. The Master was still here… "It's a trap."

"Are we going to walk right into it?" Jake asked. Good to see that he got over his culture shock.

"Oh, yes." The Doctor started down the hall.

"I can't allow that." Jake stated. "It goes against all Torchwood protocol."

The Doctor growled, turned around, and advanced on Jake. "I don't give a damn about Torchwood protocol. Rose is in the hands, at the mercy of the one Time Lord who has no mercy and tortures people for amusement. If you have a problem with the way I'm doing things then go wait on the TARDIS." He turned and continued down the hall, not bothering to see if Jake was following.

They reached the end of the corridor and ran into another problem. It split off into two different directions…but which one should they take? The Doctor had no idea which one lead to Rose. Quickly he looked down each direction. They looked exactly the same. "Damn…Jake, go with Pete and go that way, Jackie and I will go this way." He didn't wait to give them time to argue. He wanted to take Jackie because he knew Pete outranked Jake and could keep him reigned in.

"Doctor," Jackie asked, keeping up with his long strides. "Rose is okay…isn't she?" she asked. She sounded so heartbroken.

He reached out and took her hand as they moved through the corridor like he would with Rose. "I don't know, Jackie." He told her, unable to lie to her. "But she will be. I swear that."

They reached the end of the corridor and he looked around. Damn it, damn it all to hell. Where the hell was Rose?

"Oh, come now, Doctor, you can't be stumped this quickly. Where's all of that cleverness?" The Master's voice came over the speaker system, filling the space around them. "Your precious flower is waiting." His voice rang with a happy note and he laughed before shutting off the speakers.

The Doctor growled. "Show yourself, you coward!" He stormed off down another hall and looked for something, anything to lead him to Rose.

The Master came back on the speaker system. "Come and find me."

The Doctor ran into a room and realized it was the control room. Rose was sitting in the middle, tied down to a chair, she looked like she was asleep, but there was something attached to her head. It almost resembled a tiara. It was gold, small, just wrapped around her forehead, with two gems placed over her temples. He growled and took a step towards her and a force field went up, blocking him from touching her. He growled and looked up at the top of the stairs where the Master was standing. "Let her go," he growled.

The Master started walking down the stairs, his hands in his pockets. "No, I don't think I will. I'm not done with her yet." He smirked as the ship started to shake, the engine groaning. "I'm so glad you didn't take long getting here."

"What are you doing?" the Doctor demanded.

"I'm jumping universes." He smirked. The ship shuddered as it punched a hole between dimensions, sending them spinning into Rose's original dimension. "You see, one Time Lord wasn't enough. I needed two." He grinned, stepping through the barrier to stand behind Rose. "With myself, a half-Time Lord…" he smiled slowly, taking Rose's face into his hands and smoothing his fingers through her hair, "and of course, the power of the Time Vortex attached to our Rose's soul, I have the power to do it."

He laughed when the ship came to a stop with a shudder and the Doctor grabbed onto Jackie to keep her from falling. He ran to the window. This was a trap, a very bad trap. And he'd walked right into it. He'd never thought the Master would be planning something like this though. Damn it.

"Welcome home," Master whispered to Rose. "It's time to wake up."


	9. Burn

Reality of Nightmares

Chapter 9

"Come along, Ponds." The Doctor called, stepping outside of the TARDIS. He'd brought them back home for a little while. They were complaining about bills and engagement parties the TARDIS could use some time to self-repair anyways. The only problem was that something was very, very wrong. There were people running all over the place, panicking, pointing up at the sky. One look up told the Doctor why. There was a very ominous looking spaceship hovering over London.

"Doctor…what is that?" Amy asked stepping out of the TARDIS along with Rory, and River, who had joined them for a while, behind him.

"Doctor?" River came to stand beside him.

Something about this spaceship was very wrong. He was sure he'd never seen it before, but it seemed so familiar. "What's going on?" he asked no one in particular. He started walking closer to the spaceship, the Ponds and River following. "Not right, something is not right." He mumbled. There was something very not right about this spaceship.

"Doctor, will you please tell us what's going on?" Amy asked.

"I don't know…" he shook his head and looked around. What was going on?

"Oh, Doctor!" a loud voice was projected all over London in a sing-song voice. "Come out; come out, wherever you are!"

A freezing, cold dread settled deep inside him. His hearts stopped in his chest and he nearly passed out which was ridiculous since he had a respiratory bypass system. "No…"

"Come on, Doctor! I'm not a patient man!"

There was no way. No possible way. The Doctor took off running. Faintly he could hear the Ponds and River following him, but he wasn't paying them much attention. As soon as he was close enough to the spaceship he located the tallest building. He knew it would take too long to climb all of those stairs leading up to the tenth floor and opted for the lift. As soon as the others were inside he pushed the button for the top floor. The whole ride up he was bouncing on the balls of his feet. His whole body felt like it was moving; like his skin was crawling.

"Doctor!" the voice echoed.

As soon as the doors to the lift opened he was out of them like a bullet, running for the roof access he threw the door open and stopped at the edge of the building.

"Oh, there you are, Doctor. Did you miss me?"

The Doctor stared into those brown, tormented eyes, and even though he was looking upon the man of his nightmares, he couldn't believe he was really standing there, on the edge of the spaceship, looking back at him, his hands in his pockets. He was so casual looking, like it was the most natural thing in the universe to be standing on a spaceship hovering over London. Like he had never fallen through that portal.

"What are you doing here?" the Doctor demanded. "You're dead! I saw you! You fell through that portal with the rest of the Time Lords. You went back to Gallifrey!" he was losing it; slowly his sanity was draining from him. He'd faced this man twice already. Thought he'd killed him both times, but…he was still here.

"Why don't you come aboard, I have a surprise for you." He winked and walked back into the spaceship.

The Doctor growled and spun, looking at River. "Get me on that ship." He demanded. She didn't hesitate, didn't ask questions. She set the coordinates on her teleporter and a few seconds later they were standing inside the ship, in the main control room.

"I'm so glad you decided to come," the Doctor looked up as his nightmare swaggered down the stairs. "Oh, and look, you've brought more friends." His eyes danced over River, Amy, and Rory.

"Doctor, who is that?" River asked.

"Oh, haven't told these ones about me I see."

The Doctor sighed, almost defeated. There was just no way to win with this man. "This is the Master…another Time Lord." The Master bowed with a wicked smirk as he was introduced. "But you can't be here! I saw you!"

The Master's smirk turned vile and evil. "I always come out on top. There was an opening in that portal you tried to kill me with…I jumped through it." He smirked and walked over to door. "Would you like to see your surprise?" he asked.

The Doctor's eyes narrowed as he pushed a button and the door slid open. Both of his hearts stopped. There was no way….this wasn't happening. Couldn't be happening. It was written all over his face. His soul was being ripped apart. Slowly, the girl who'd been hiding behind the door walked out, her eyes glazed over, her movements slow, careful, like she wasn't in control of herself. Those beautiful eyes that he remembered oh so well. They didn't even search for him. She didn't even realize he was standing right there. He didn't know what hurt more. Knowing that the Master was using her for something, or that she didn't search for him like she used to. But how was she here?

"Isn't she just beautiful?" the Master asked, reaching his hand out to her and pulling her into him. Had it been under better circumstances the Doctor could have taken a moment to appreciate her attire. A long red dress that brushed the ground and accentuated her curves in all the right places. Black heels making legs seem longer… "Come now, Doctor, is that any way to treat an old friend? Come say hello."

"What have you done to her?" The Doctor demanded "How is she even here?" venom was creeping into his voice, turning it dark with the promise of pain if the Master made the wrong move. He'd watched too many times as the people he loved were hurt at the hands of his enemies. He thought she'd been safe, but now…he knew he'd been wrong.

"You sent me through that portal, but there was a hole, I jumped through it and ended up somewhere amazing." The Master explained, wrapping his hand around her waist and pulling her against him. She didn't struggle, didn't fight him, but the Doctor had a feeling she couldn't, she didn't even know what was going on. "As soon as I had what I needed there, I came back here."

"What did you need?" The Doctor was slowly moving forwards. He had to get her away from him. Had to make her realize what was going on.

"Ah, ah, ah," The Master pulled out a sonic and held it up against her creamy flesh. "You just stay where you are, Doctor. I still have more surprises for you." Another door was open and three more people were dragged into the room by guards. The Doctor stared at them, his eyes wide with disbelief. This couldn't be happening. This was all a nightmare. It had to be.

"Doctor!" River suddenly made the connection, seeing one of the captive brought it. "How…how are you standing there…and here?"

"What?" Amy asked.

The guards released the captives and the Doctor met himself halfway across the room. They stood, looked at each other. "So this is what I became…" the other man said, his voice low. "How did it happen?"

The Doctor sighed, remembering that Christmas. "Radiation…a lot of it." The other nodded and sighed.

"Well, could be worse, eh?"

"Doctor! What is going on?" Amy asked.

The Doctor sighed and looked over at her then back at the man before him. "I haven't told them."

The other man looked up and smiled a little. "River. You're looking better than the last time I saw you."

River smirked. "Spoilers."

"You better explain, Doctor, your friends look like they're about to go mad." The Master called from behind them.

"Shall I?" the Doctor asked, looking at the man in front of him. He nodded, pushing his hands into his pockets, settling his eyes on the woman in the Master's arms. "Amy, Rory, River, this…is me." The Doctor said, gesturing to his meta-crisis clone. "I had been shot, by a Dalek, but there was a hand of mine, that had been cut off while I was in my regeneration cycle, on the TARDIS. I used it so I didn't have to change my appearance. Donna, another old friend of mine, touched it, and well, this Doctor grew from the hand, but he's only half Time Lord, he only has one heart, one life. He's basically a human now." He looked at his three companions to make sure they were keeping up before he continued. "This lovely woman is Jackie Tyler, hell of a right hook. And this is Pete Tyler, billionaire of Vitex, and this is Jake." He slowly turned and looked at the Master. "And that…" he said nodding to the woman "is Rose Tyler."

"Rose?" River asked her eyes wide as she looked over at the woman. "You mean…as in…"

"The very same." The Doctor turned his gaze upon the Master. "I still don't understand how you got here. One Time Lord isn't enough to punch a hole through dimensions."

"That would be my fault." The duplicate of his past self stepped forward. "Before you dropped Rose, Jackie, and I off at Bad Wolf Bay, I took a seed pod, and don't give me that look, I know I said I would never grow another TARDIS, but I never thought I'd be a human trapped in another dimension."

"So, you had the power of a second TARDIS…but that still wasn't enough." The Doctor was searching for something. Just the power alone that the second TARDIS would have given him wouldn't have been enough.

The Master smirked and slowly ran the backs of his fingers down Rose's face. "No, but I had the power of a half Time Lord." He smirked looked at his copy. "And, I had the power of the Bad Wolf." He smirked and cupped Rose's face. "Take a look at her eyes, Doctor."

Slowly he moved closer, close enough to see something he should have seen years ago. Something he had missed. Something that had put Rose in danger. There, dancing in her eyes was the shimmering gold of the universe. The Vortex had latched onto her soul and part of it had remained inside of her. He stumbled back and was kept from falling when River grabbed him, holding him up right.

"Do you know what having the Vortex inside of her has been doing to her, Doctor?" the Master asked. He looked between both of them. "Do either of you know?" he looked back at Rose and then laughed. The cruel sound rang out and echoed in the room. "Of course you don't, you're both too dense!"

"Then why don't you tell us!" the copy demanded, his voice laced with acid.

The Master smirked, amusement playing in his eyes. "It's changing her DNA." He laughed as both Doctors nearly fell to the floor.

"What do you mean it's changing her?" River demanded. "How?"

"Rose…back in my ninth regeneration…she looked into the heart of the TARDIS…she was trying to save my life, and she did, but she absorbed the Time Vortex, took it into her body. That's how I regenerated into my tenth form, I took it out of her and released it back inside of the TARDIS…but I didn't take it all." The Doctor explained.

"And because I didn't take it all, the Vortex, which allows you to see everything in the universe, past, present, and future, everything that could or would be, every little motion that could send it tipping one way or the other, the power of a Time Lord has been trapped inside of her…changing her. Creating a new Time Lord from the human body it was given." The duplicate finished.

"That still doesn't explain what you're doing here, or what you need her for." The Doctor took a step towards Rose, but the Master put his sonic up again. "What do you want with Rose?" he demanded.

The Master smirked, his eyes looking over everyone in the room before settling on the full blooded Time Lord. "Some men just want to watch the world burn." He laughed and took a step back; dragging Rose with him as more guards came out and took them all. The Master's laugh followed them all the way to the cell they were all thrown into.


	10. Deceptions

Realty of Nightmares

Chapter 10

Both Doctors had just finished completely explaining things about the Master, Rose, Bad Wolf, the parallel dimensions, all of it. "So you're the Doctor," Amy said, looking at her Doctor, "and you're the Doctor, but you're half human?"

"Yes," the half human Doctor confirmed.

"And Rose is being turned into a Time Lord?" they both nodded.

"Doctor that's impossible." River pointed out.

"Not true," the eleventh regeneration spoke up. "You, River, have Time Lord powers, or rather you did. You were able to regenerate, and why? Because you were conceived on the TARDIS. Part of the vortex had latched onto you too."

"It's quite possible. She won't have two hearts, but chances are she'll be able to regenerate." The other finished.

They watched as Amy looked between them. "Does anyone else find this all a bit weird?" Rory asked

The human Doctor laughed. "You should have been there when there were three of us."

"Three Doctors?" Amy asked.

"Oh yeah, right confusing that was." Jackie said. "They were all finishing each other's sentences."

"Three Doctors…"

"The Doctor Doctor, the Doctor Donna, and the Donna Doctor." The full Time Lord said.

"If it was in his head it was in my head, if it was in my head, it was in his head,"

"And if it was in her head, it was in our heads."

"Okay…you two need to stop that." Rory said shaking his head. "That's just confusing."

Both Doctors smirked but they left quickly, replaced with scowls. "We still don't know what the Master is planning. We still need to figure that out, and somehow manage to save the earth and Rose in the process."

"Save the world, get the girl, look devilishly handsome while doing it?" the clone smirked. "Just like old times."

"Just like old times." The two Doctors set to work, devising a plan and creating an escape act.

It was dark. So dark. So…empty. Her body was moving, and she could see people. People she should know…people she should love, but they weren't registering. They were just…there. She was just there. There was nothing. Just emptiness. Her body moved but she wasn't controlling it. She felt weightless. There were people talking but she couldn't hear what they said. Nothing was registering. She was so tired. Someone came to stand behind her. Wrapped arms around her. She felt secure. Held to the ground. She wouldn't float away into the blackness. His voice. She didn't know what he was saying. Couldn't hear the words. The tone was happy though. Was something good happening? There were angry voices too. What was going on? She couldn't get her brain to work. Her head hurt. She was so tired. She just wanted to go to sleep.

The people were being led away. But the person behind her stayed. He kept her held to the ground. Was he a friend? He took her hand. He led her from the room. So tired. So…sleepy.

But then there was a small light. Off in the distance. Slowly she walked towards it. Like it was calling her. Her steps were slow. Like she was walking through water. The light got brighter, stronger, warmer.

Rose slowly blinked. The light was blinding as she looked around, trying to gather her bearings. Where was she? Slowly it all came back to her. The Master, the Doctor. All of it. She looked around and saw the Master playing around with some of the controls on the ship. He didn't seem to notice she'd waken up. Slowly she reached up to the mind controller he'd put on her and tried to take it off. It wouldn't budge, and it hurt when she pulled on it. It was attached to her whether she liked it or not. But…she'd been able to break out of his control. She was stronger than he thought she was. She wouldn't let him control her any more.

Slowly she stood, trying to make her heels as quiet as possible on the marble floor as she slowly approached him. Measuring every step she took. Her eyes darted around the room looking for a weapon. Before she even cleared the first step the Master spun and looked at her. His eyes were glowing with a sadistic fascination. "Rose Tyler you continue to amaze me." He walked down the stairs, backing her up until she hit the table. He planted his hands firmly on either side of her and just smirked. "I knew the Doctor liked you for a reason." He scoffed. "Too bad he's not going to get to keep you."

"What did you do to the Doctor?" she demanded. She wasn't going to let him intimidate her.

"Nothing…yet." He smirked and one of his hands moved from the table, holding her hip. "I don't see what it is about you humans he finds so attractive. I suppose you look like us, the physical similarities are astounding…but then again, you're not quite human, are you?" he smirked, his hand smoothing around to grasp her rear, pulling her against him. "Maybe I should try to figure out just what it is he loves so much about you."

Rose pushed him away before he could kiss her and the Master stumbled back. He laughed and then glared at her, his eyes burning with something that terrified her. He backhanded her, snapping her head to the side. Slowly Rose turned back and looked at him, defiance burning in her whiskey colored eyes. "Don't touch me."

"Defiant, aren't we?" he sneered, pushing away from her to pace around the room. "So, you're strong enough to break out of my control. Guess I'll just have to gain some leverage, won't I?" he reached over to an intercom. "Bring them in."

One by one four people she knew were led in, and four she didn't. Though…one of them looked familiar. Like she should know him from somewhere. But she was absolutely certain she'd never seen him before. "Rose." Both the man she loved and the one she felt like she knew moved forward. But the other stopped, letting the Doctor come to her. She wrapped her arms around him, holding him close. He pulled back, cupping her face. "Are you…" he trailed off, his thumb brushing over the bruise starting to form on her face where the Master had struck her. His eyes on fire he glared up at the Master. "I will make sure you pay." He vowed.

Rose took his wrists in her hands and pleaded with him to look at her. "Doctor," he laid his head against hers and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"I'm going to save you Rose. I promise."

The Master walked over and tore them apart, grabbing Rose in a bruising hold and pulling her away from the Doctor. "I wouldn't make promises you know you can't keep, Doctor." He laughed and twisted Rose's arm in his hold until it was wrapped behind her body painfully as he pulled her against him tightly, wrapping the other arm around her waist. "Why don't you introduce our dear Rose to our other guests?" he suggested.

Rose looked at the man who had called her name and moved towards her. He was looking at her, heartbreak in his eyes, and something else. Why was he so familiar? "Rose…" The Doctor sighed. "This is Amy, Rory, and River…and this." He walked over to the man and sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. "This, Rose, is the Doctor."

Rose nearly passed out. They weren't in Pete's world anymore. They were back…they were home. The Master held her, even when she tried to break free of his hold. She had to touch him…make sure it was real. She'd seen him regenerate once…that's all that had happened. He was still the Doctor; he just had a different face.

"Let her go!" both Doctors shouted.

Rose nearly fell to the ground from the force of pulling against the Master when he let her go. She ran over to the Doctor, the Time Lord Doctor and stopped in front of him. Slowly her hand reached up and touched his face. He just smiled and leaned into her touch. "You're…real." She whispered.

He smiled and covered her hand with his. "I'm real." He laughed as Rose threw her arms around him, hugging him close. "Oh, Rose Tyler." He whispered, hugging her close.

"I thought I'd never see you again."

"So did I." he admitted pulling back to look at her. "Are you alright?" She nodded and stepped back as her Doctor stepped up beside her. He looked almost unsure. She took his hand in hers, squeezing it, letting him know that she was still his. He smiled a little and laced their fingers.

All three of them turned and looked at the Master. Regarding him carefully. It was like dealing with a time bomb and no one knew when it was going to explode. Slowly, Rose let her hand slip free from the Doctor's and took a few careful steps towards the Master. "What do you want?" she asked.

He smirked and closed the space between them, stepping up until he could cup her face in one of his hands. He pulled her close so he was whispering into her ear. "I want to destroy the man that ruined me." He stated, pulling her back against his chest and holding her close. "Gentlemen, I'm afraid this reunion will be cut a little short." He said nodding to the guards.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Everyone looked to the back of the room. Unnoticed someone had slipped into the room, and Rose couldn't help the smile that spread over her face. He looked at her and gave her a wink. "Did you miss me?"

"Jack!" Rose struggled against the Master but he tightened his hand around her throat.

Jack walked into the room. "I suggest you let her go," Jack said. "Or this whole ship will be blown to kingdom come." He held up a detonator and the Master just laughed. "Not the reaction I was going for…" The Master just laughed harder as two of his men walked in carrying the bomb Jack had planted, the wires cut. Now it was just a messy paper weight. Jack was taken into custody and held along the wall with the rest of the companions. "Sorry, Rose."

"S'alright."

"Take the Doctor's to the special room I've had prepared for them." The Master commanded. "The others can go back to the cell." Rose fought against his hold as she watched her friends and family being pulled away. The Master's grip tightened on her throat. "Behave yourself."

"Where have you taken the Doctors?" she demanded.

"To be executed." He pushed a button behind him and a screen appeared in front of them. The Doctors were being strapped down to two chairs, though they were fighting. "If you don't do what I say, Miss Tyler, they will die, and it will be your fault."

Rose went slack in his arms. Completely giving up. She wouldn't let them die because of her. "What do I have to do?" she asked.

The Master smirked, his lips brushing over her ear. "Become mine." He whispered. Rose gasped, shock, fear, and heartbreak spreading through her. Could she really do that? To save his life…could she pretend to be someone else's? The Master chuckled. "Knowing that you belong to someone else, will break him." Rose nodded her head in agreement, playing the part, all the while thinking of a way out of this. A way to save the Doctors and her family.


	11. Questions

AN: There is a question left unanswered at the end of this chapter. It's up to you, the readers, to answer it.

Reality of Nightmares

Chapter 11

Rose stood in front of a full length mirror, staring back at her reflection. She was looking at someone else she didn't know. Her body was draped in an elegant black dress; strapless, floor brushing, tight, but modest. She didn't look like herself. She took a deep breath and walked out of the room. She was supposed to meet the Master in the control room, and then she had to break the Doctor's heart, both of their hearts. At least, that was the Master's plan. Rose had other plans. She had found some of the Master's guards didn't care too much for their employer. Through them, she was able to work out a plan with Jack that just might get them out of here. Only…she hadn't been able to tell the Doctors about her plan. It had to be genuine. Their emotions had to be real.

She walked into the control room; the Master was already standing there, waiting for her, looking smug. He held out his hand and Rose took it, slowly letting him pull her into his arms. "Are you ready, dear Rose?" he asked. If she didn't know better she would say there was almost affection in his voice.

"Ready or not, let's get this over with." She mumbled as he turned her around in his arms. He rested his head on her shoulder as the guards she knew were on her side led the two Doctors into the room. Before they could get a good look at her she placed a smile on her face and leaned back into the Masters arms, wrapping her arms around his own that encircled her waist, feigning affection for the Time Lord holding her.

Her Doctor growled, staring at them. She could see the heartbreak in his eyes, see the torment. He knew what was going on, knew that she was about to break his heart, and that killed her. But she still didn't let it show on her face. "What have you done to Rose?" the full Time Lord Doctor demanded, not buying her act for what it really was like the half human Doctor.

Before the Master could speak, Rose answered. "He hasn't done anything to me, idiot." She smirked and glanced back at the Master, completely playing the part. "This is of my own free will. Why should I settle for a human, when I can have a Time Lord?" she laughed a little, the sound made her want to rip her ears off. "And more to the matter, why would I choose a Time Lord who could so easily abandon me?" She saw it when the realization hit them both and three hearts broke, shattering to a million pieces. "No, I'll thank you kindly Doctors; I'll stay with the Master."

They both looked upon her, their hearts broken. "Rose…" her Doctor stepped forward, his voice hollow, "you're…you can't be serious."

Forcing venom into her voice, Rose answered him. "Oh, but I am, Doctor." She forced a believing smile on her face as the Master kissed her cheek.

The Doctor stepped back, his body physically defeated at the confession of her words. She was dying on the inside. It killed her to do this to him. She only hoped that he would forgive her when truth came to light. The Master laughed and started to talk, but the alarms going off all over the ship stopped him.

"What is going on now?" he groaned releasing Rose, though he didn't stray far. Rose closed her eyes and started to concentrate. She was going to get one shot at this and that was it. She didn't have the luxury of making a mistake. This had to go right. This ihad/i to work.

She heard Jack run into the room along with everyone else. She heard, rather than saw the guns they were carrying as they aimed them all on the Master. Rose kept concentrating, even when the Master pulled her flush against him, holing her in front of their line of sight, protecting himself. She could hear people shouting, demands being made, but she channeled it all out. She could feel it growing inside of her body, the overwhelming power of everything.

It felt like her body was on fire, like lightning was shooting through her veins, igniting every nerve ending as the fire burned a liquid heat through her. The sensation grew and grew until she thought she would burst with it. Voices, millions upon millions of voices screamed inside of her head, billions of faces past before her eyes. She was locked on, she was controlling. She slowed the faces down, bid them to go away until there was just a vast emptiness and voices. She latched onto the voices, quieting each one until it was just hers. Until it was only her voice and she was controlling everything. As soon as she was sure, positive without a doubt that she had complete control, she opened her eyes.

A dreaded quiet spread through the room as they looked upon her. "What?" the Master demanded, not knowing what was going on. "What are you all staring at?" he sounded frantic. Rose smirked and slowly turned in his hold to look up into his eyes that filled with fear as color drained from his face. "That's impossible."

"That's Rose Tyler." Jack commented from behind them. "The Big Bad Wolf."

"You took my family, my friends, you locked them up." The Master let her go and backed up, but Rose followed him. "You hurt my Doctors, you wanted ime/i to hurt my Doctors." She smiled and reached up, cupping his face in her hand. "You should've known that I wouldn't allow that." This is where things got tricky. Rose concentrated on the Master, on his Time Lord essence, the energy that lived inside of him; running through his veins. She latched onto it and pulled it out of him. Taking it into her own body. This power. It overwhelmed her, it was dangerous. So very powerful, and so very, very dangerous. She wouldn't be able to hold onto it forever, but even as it started to grow painful, even as she started to cry because of the searing pain consuming her entire body, she took it into herself. Draining him of everything he was.

Vaguely she could hear the Master screaming, begging her to stop, but even as hot tears streamed down her face, she didn't stop.

"Rose," a soft voice, one she knew so well whispered into her ear as two hands encircled her hips. "That's enough, Rose. Let go." She tried, but she couldn't. She was in too deep, too deep inside, she had to finish. "Let go," slowly releasing the Master, she concentrated on the voice of the man she loved. Slowly retreated back to him. Her hand fell from the Master's face and she swayed on her feet before losing her balance and collapsing back into the Doctor's arms. He gently guided her down to the floor and looked down at her.

"Doctor…" she smiled, despite the pain stabbing through her head. "You're safe." She closed her eyes, the light much too bright. "That's good."

"Rose, hold on, where do you think you're going?" he whispered, pulling her closer.

Rose sensed someone else kneel beside them and she forced her eyes open enough to register that it was the other Doctor. The Doctor Doctor. "Rose, can you hear me?" he asked. She nodded her head, it took too much energy to speak, and she was so tired. "Rose, you're brilliant, have I told you that?"

"Might have mentioned it…once or twice." She said, unable to fight the smile that spread over her lips; but it faded quickly as the pain stabbed through her head.

Both Doctors laughed softly. "Yes, I think I have." The Time Lord spoke. "I need you to be brilliant for me one more time. Can you do that?" Rose nodded her head and listened to him even though the peaceful darkness and the quiet begged her to lie in its arms. "I need you to concentrate, I know it's hard. I know how tired you must be, but I need to you concentrate hard Rose." He stroked her hair and guided her hand up to a face. The gentle stubble let her know it was her Doctor. She could feel his frown against her palm. "Be strong, Rose, this isn't going to be easy. Are you concentrating?"

Rose grasped onto his voice saw him in her head, saw her Doctor too, and concentrated on the two of them. "Yes." She whispered.

"Half of that energy growing inside of you; I want you to let go of it, give it to the Doctor…your Doctor." Rose didn't hesitate. The pain stabbed through her, but she did as she was told. She could feel the energy leaving her and going into the Doctor. "That's it, Rose." The more energy she gave to her Doctor the less her head throbbed and screamed with pain. Concentrating as hard as she could she shut off the flow as soon as she reached the halfway point. Weak, her body unable to function anymore, she collapsed back into strong arms as her world went black all around her.

The Doctor watched as his meta-crisis clone, lifted Rose off the floor and carried her over to Jackie and Pete. "She's going to be alright," he assured them. "She just needs to sleep." He turned and looked at the Master. He looked so weak, pale and lifeless on the floor. How Rose had thought to control his own energy and drain it from his body he'll never know. Now, the once powerful Time Lord was just a human. He had no Time Lord energy left.

Slowly, the Doctor approached him, kneeling beside him. He looked down into those eyes, so close to empty. "I'm human aren't I?" the Master asked.

"Yes," the Doctor confirmed, holding the Master in his arms.

The Master smiled, looking up at the ceiling. True happiness on his face. "The drums…they've stopped."

The Doctor watched as the Master fell into a sleep. When he woke he would have to cope with being a human, but at least he was no longer a threat. Humans were easy enough to deal with. He sighed and stood, looking back at everyone. His clone was standing, but he wouldn't take more than three steps away from Rose. Pete was holding Jackie, as Jake waved a medical scanner over Rose, just to be sure that she was alright. Rory and Amy were talking, looking out the window, and River was conversing with Jack. His eyes narrowed, watching Jack for a moment before deciding that it was harmless.

He couldn't help the smile. Everyone was here, two parallel worlds had collided and nothing horrible had happened. Rose was being changed into a half Time Lord, but she was going to be okay. Something about her always made her okay in the end.

Thoughts of past companions came flooding back. The defender of the earth, the Bad Wolf, the doctor who had helped him heal, the woman who had walked the earth, the best friend, the most important woman in the world, and the mother, the girl who waited. He smiled and shook his head. He always traveled with the best.

"So!" he said looking at them all. "Who's hungry?"

Rose jumped awake, looking around, her chest heaving. The last thing she remembered was being surrounded by two Doctors as she did the improbable. Slowly regaining control over her breathing again, she realized she was back in her own room on the TARDIS. But…which TARDIS? That was the question wasn't it? She threw the covers back and looked at herself before deciding she needed to change. She didn't need to go waltzing around in some fancy dress. With the way things operated when the Doctor was around, she could be running for her life in five minutes and long floor-length dresses were not designed for running. Instead, she settled on a pair of jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, and one of her favorite hooded sweatshirts.

As soon as she had her feet in a pair of trainers she was out the door and looking for signs of life. She checked the library, the kitchen, the sitting room, but no one was around. Odd, there had been a lot of people the last time she was awake, so where had they gone? She walked into the control room; they weren't flying through space, so that was a good thing. They had to be here somewhere. She walked over to the computer and brought up the view screen. It looked like they were in a park. "Hmm…"

Rose walked out of the TARDIS and instantly saw double. Her Doctor's TARDIS, was parked next to the full Time Lord's TARDIS. She shook her head for a moment, a small smile tugging at her lips and walked into the other TARDIS. She could hear laughter and people talking, sounded like a party. And they didn't invite her? She was going to have to remedy that. Following the sounds of the voices, noting all the changes in the TARDIS, Rose found herself in another sitting room. She leaned in the doorway and looked around at everyone.

The full blooded Time Lord was sitting at one end of a long table covered in food, chatting with her father about something while Jackie was carrying on a conversation with Amy and Rory who were sitting across from her. River was beside her mother giving Jake weird looks and Jake looked like he was going to be ill. Poor bloke. Culture shock. She smiled and looked at her two favorite men. Jack and her Doctor looked like they were in some kind of deep conversation, their voices low, their eyes serious. That was of course until the other Doctor threw what looked like a fish finger down the table at them.

"Oi!" her Doctor called out. "None of that!"

"This is a party!" the other Doctor shouted back. "Lighten up!"

"Oh, this is a party?" Amy asked nudging the Doctor.

"Yes Amelia, this is a party." The Doctor clarified, smiling at the way Amy laughed. Rose smiled and watched them. She was going to have to thank Amy and Rory; it looked like they had been good for the Doctor. She was happy that he wasn't alone, he needed someone with him.

"Doctor?" Jackie asked, starting to get up from the table.

Both of the men lifted their head and looked at her. "Yes?"

"Don't do that." Jackie said blankly. "Never mind, I'll get it myself." She turned to walk out of the room and saw Rose. "Oh, hello sweetheart, did you sleep well?"

Suddenly all eyes were on her. Rose just smiled and shook her head. "Yeah, mum. I'm fine." She said hugging her mother.

"Rose!" Both her Doctor and Jack stood from the table and ran over to her, but Jack beat the Doctor. He threw his arms around her and lifted her off the ground as he hugged her. "Oh, I missed you."

Rose smiled and hugged back, holding him tightly. "Missed you too, though I can't breathe." Jack laughed and set her down on her feet.

She looked up at her Doctor who had let Jack get in line first. He was just standing there, looking at her, his hands in his pockets. He looked so serious. She frowned a little. Had she done something? Or…he was still cross with her for the stunt she'd pulled with the Master…he hadn't forgiven her. She looked down at little, and before she could say anything River came to stand in front of her. "Rose," she smiled and hugged her.

Rose hugged back. "So you're River Song." She smiled looking at the older woman with wild hair. "The woman from his future." She smiled and shook her head. "I've heard stories."

"So have I." River said giving Rose the once over, then flicked a glance at the other Doctor who was watching them carefully.

"Oi, you two, no fighting!" he called from where he sat at the table.

Rose smirked and remembered how things had been at first with Sarah Jane. But that had been back when there was only one Doctor. Rose looked at River and just smiled, shrugging her shoulders. An unspoken agreement passed between the two women. iI have my Doctor, you have yours, deal?/i They both agreed.

"So, not to put a damper on things," Rose said, taking the empty seat between Jack and River. "But can someone please tell me what happened? I don't remember much." They all started to explain things as Rose ate, telling her what had happened while she was trying to save their lives, and what had become of the Master. Apparently he was in a hospital in Asia seeking treatment after the Doctors dropped them off there.

"What I want to know," the full Time Lord Doctor said, "is how you thought to do something like that. How did you know it was going to work?"

Rose grinned, and looked at him over the rim of her glass. "I didn't." she smiled as he gave her one of his approving smiles and shook his head.

"Rose Tyler, the defender of the earth." He smiled.

"There's still one thing I don't understand," Rose said looking between the two Doctors. "Since I absorbed all of that Time Lord energy, and the bit of Vortex was warping my DNA…what does that make me?" she was a little nervous about the answer. The Doctor had told her one night that Donna's memory had to be wiped because she couldn't handle all of that Time Lord energy, she was going to have to forget about the Doctor, and she'd never be able to see him again. Rose didn't think she would be able to live with that.

The eleventh regeneration spoke up. "I know what you're thinking and stop it. It's not the same thing that happened to Donna, you're going to get to keep your Doctor." He smiled and straightened his bow tie. "With Donna, it didn't change her DNA; it just gave her all of that knowledge, like when you absorbed the vortex back on Satellite Five. This time, it's your DNA that's being changed. You can handle the power." He smiled. "More to the point, you and your Doctor," he nodded to the half human Doctor, "will be able to regenerate now. You'll also have more control with the TARDIS since she'll respond better to you now."

"So I can fly her?" Rose asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Oh yes." River said smiling. "Though, let me show you how to do it right." She winked and grinned.

"Oi!" the Doctor shouted. "My ship!"

Rose smiled a little and looked at her Doctor. He didn't look happy. He looked…heartbroken. He was never going to forgive her. She looked down at her lap and sighed. Jack leaned in and kissed her cheek. "Come with me." He took her hand and pulled her out of the chair and walked to a different room of the TARDIS, closing the door behind them. "What's wrong?" he asked crossing his arms and staring at her.

Rose shook her head; she could feel the tears starting to form. "He hates me." She whispered.

"What?" Jack walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. "Rose, that's not true. He loves you."

She shook her head. "I broke his heart…I had to make him think that I was in love with the Master…he's never going to forgive me for this."

Jack stroked her hair and kissed her head. "I think you need to talk to him."

"What am I going to say?" she asked. She'd gone through all of that hell to make sure that they could be together, and now he hated her. Her heart hurt. It ached for him to forgive her. She didn't know what she would do if he didn't. Her fingers gripped Jack's shirt, holding onto him to make sure that this wasn't just another nightmare. He just held her, let her cry and once she was calmed down he helped her clean up. "We should get back," she whispered.

He sighed. "Yeah, I suppose." He took her hand and led her back to the room, and she looked everywhere and at anyone but the Doctor. It looked like things were winding down for the night.

"So, what's going to happen now?" Amy asked. "They're back from the parallel world, do they get to stay, or are they going back?"

A quiet fell over the group of people it had been the question that had been weighing on everyone's mind. They all looked at the eleventh generation of the Doctor. Ultimately it was up to him. He was the one who said they couldn't stay here because the Doctor needed to have time to learn what was proper and what wasn't. Rose looked at everyone in the room. She would do anything to be able to stay here, but…she would accept whatever the Doctor said as well.

It was all up to him.


	12. Closing

Reality of Nightmares

Chapter 12

The Doctor sighed and looked around the table at everyone gathered there. There were the Ponds who had been there when he desperately needed someone. Amy had been the first face he saw after regenerating; the girl who waited. Mr. Pond, the last Centurion who had waited years upon years for his true love to come out of a box. There was really something special about Rory, something that was set aside for Amy only. Then there was River, his wife, the woman from his future who knew everything about him and Jake who had fought of a cybermen army with him. Then of course, there was Jack, the man who had been brought back from the dead and would live to be the Face of Boe. He looked at Pete Tyler, the man who had fought through dimensions and Jackie Tyler the first mother to ever slap him. Then there was his meta-crisis half human clone who had so easily murdered a race of Daleks. And then there was Rose Tyler; the Defender of the Earth, the Bad Wolf, the woman who had torn through dimensions to save him.

He wanted them to stay, he truly did, but they couldn't. Well, Rose and the other Doctor could, they were part Time Lords, it would be so easy for three Time Lords to open the door between dimensions and travel between them. But how would Rose feel about leaving her mother, Pete, and Tony? He had up rooted her so many times. Not to mention that they would have to leave their TARDIS. Plus, having all three of them on one TARDIS might get a little…cramped.

He sighed and leaned forwards on his arms, staring down the table at Rose. He could see it in her eyes. She knew what would come of them staying.

"No," Rose said sitting back against her chair. "One Oncoming Storm is enough, this dimension doesn't need two."

His duplicate looked at Rose almost unbelievingly, and he wasn't the only one. Rose was the one who had broken through dimensions to try and get to him, to get back to her original dimension, and now, she was okay with going back.

"Well, if Rose is going, then so am I," Jack said sitting back in his chair. "Torchwood has just about had it anyways; I'm ready to see something new."

"I don't have a problem with that," his duplicate said, looking down the table the original Doctor.

He sighed. It wouldn't change anything if Jack left with them. Mickey had stayed in the other dimension, and then came back to this one. Worlds hadn't exploded. "If that's what you want to do, that's fine," he said.

He saw the way Rose looked at her Doctor with a smile, but when it wasn't returned it shrank, but she kept one on as she hugged Jack. The Doctor saw what everyone else saw; a happy girl who had come out on top again. But in her eyes he could see what he knew his past self was seeing. Rose didn't have the connection that they shared; she wasn't created from their DNA like Donna had, so she wasn't in their minds like Donna had been. But the Doctor was still in his duplicate's head.

_She thinks you hate her, you know_, he thought, never taking his eyes off of Rose.

_Her thinking I hate her is better than her knowing what I'm really thinking._

_And what's that?_

His eyes grew a little wide when he realized his clone was thinking about all of the times they had regenerated. What he had said to Wilfred back before he'd faced the Master and the Time Lords flashed in his head. _"Even if I change it still feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away…and I'm dead."_

Now he knew what had put his other self in such a bad mood. He was dreading the day that something happened to take his Rose away from him. She would be able to regenerate, sure, they would be able to live a long happy life together, yes, but not with the same faces. Rose had seen him die, twice now, the first time he'd changed, going from his older, darker self, to the happier, better looking bloke sitting across from him at the table. But Rose…when she changed… The Doctor sighed and shook his head. Now he understood.

He pushed the thought away when River came and plopped herself down on his lap. "Hello sweetie," he said looking up into her eyes with all of her wild curls framing her face.

She smiled and leaned down; toning her voice down so only he could hear her. "Those two, they'll be alright, won't they?" she asked.

The Doctor sighed. "Eventually, I'm a stubborn man, always have been, and Rose…well Rose isn't much better to be honest. It's going to come down to who will crack first. Jack's good at that though, he's good at giving someone a push when they need it." River nodded but didn't get up. She sat with him and he was thankful for that. He needed someone close right now and he didn't want to pull Amy away from Rory. He was going to have to do it a third time now. He was going to have to say goodbye to the woman who had done the impossible. The woman, who had opened up the TARDIS and looked inside, absorbed the Time Vortex, all to save his life, the woman who had ripped through dimensions when the worlds were falling apart to get back to him. He was going to have to say goodbye to Rose Tyler.

It was getting late, even for her Time Lords. Rose could sense it; her Doctor was staring to drift off. While he didn't need as much sleep as the other one, he still needed it for his body to function properly, and he wasn't the only one, Jackie and Pete were looking about done for the night, Amy was half asleep on Rory's shoulder, and Jake had pretty much passed out with his head atop his folded arms on the table.

She stood and walked around the table to the Doctor, the first Doctor and smiled when he and River looked up. "Mind if I borrow him for a bit?" she asked, not wanting to overstep her boundaries with his wife.

"Not at all." River stood and let Rose take the Doctor by the hand and walk out of the room.

They found themselves in the library and Rose shut the door behind them for good measure. She had some things she needed to tell him that were better left for his ears only. "This isn't going to get back to my Doctor is it?" she asked looking at him.

"I'll do my best," he assured her.

Rose smiled and stepped closer to him, taking his bow tie in her hands and smoothing it out. "Bow ties now?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, bow ties are cool."

Rose smiled and shook her head. "So first there was the leather jacket, then the trainers, and now bow ties? Were your other regenerations like this too?" she teased.

"Oh yeah, back in my forth regeneration I had this scarf, wonderful thing it was, really long, but so perfect." Rose smiled and shook her head, but the smile slowly faded. The Doctor cupped her face and lifted her head so she was looking up at him. "He doesn't hate you, you have to know that."

"But I saw it, in both of your eyes when I was pretending. His heart broke before yours did…how can you say he doesn't hate me?" She just couldn't see how it was possible. She had broken his heart; she wouldn't blame him if she never forgave her.

The Doctor pulled her into his arms and wrapped his own tightly around her. "Oh, Rose Tyler, you'll just have to trust me on this one."

Rose did. She always did, but she couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get worse before they got better. "I do, Doctor." She smiled and hugged back, missing this. "So, I'm off to the other dimension…but I'll see you again." She smiled when he looked down at her. "See, the way I figure, there's three Time Lords now, yeah?" He nodded his head in agreement. "Well, three Time Lords, and two different TARDIS, all I have to do is ring you up if I need you."

"Phones don't work between dimensions." He pointed out.

Rose grinned and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Yeah, but Time Lords are clever."


End file.
